Top 144 College Basketball Teams for 2013-14

[akronzips71]

A PG takes over a game by facilitating and opening up opportunities for his teammates to score. if your PG is your leading scorer, it is to the detriment to the rest of the team.

AA was never the leading scorer.

But he was always a threat.

[OU Dude]

Ohio's lead scorer for the last 3 years was their PG and they managed to get by.

But I agree with the surprise at Akron listed as 4th, doesn't make since. If you gutted the entire roster and filled it with 13 freshman I'd still give Dambrot a shot at the top 3. Ohio has more pieces of the puzzle to replace and more question marks, not sure how they wold be ranked above the Zips at this point. Luckily for all of us these things are decided on the courts.

[Zipmeister]

Ohio's lead scorer for the last 3 years was their PG and they managed to get by.

But I agree with the surprise at Akron listed as 4th, doesn't make since. If you gutted the entire roster and filled it with 13 freshman I'd still give Dambrot a shot at the top 3. Ohio has more pieces of the puzzle to replace and more question marks, not sure how they wold be ranked above the Zips at this point. Luckily for all of us these things are decided on the courts.

I feel for you Dude. That's why I am starting a grass roots movement to get Baltic another two make that three years of eligibility.

[Quickzips]

PG and C are the two biggest concerns for me.

I don't feel at all comfortable with relying on Melo at the point. He may have a decent command of the offense (to say he is a better pure PG than Abreu at this point is laughable), but he isn't a threat to score at all. KD's teams ALWAYS rely on balanced scoring and when you put one guy out there that can't put the ball in the hoop you throw the whole offense out of sync. Melo's defender can sag off of him and double as needed, and can go under picks all night long without any fear that he is going to get beaten with a long jumper. On the flip side, Evans has a reputation as a scoring PG, but he is largely an unknown commodity at this point. JUCO success doesn't always spell DI success. Even if he can score at this level, will he be able to run the offense and get others their shots with any amount of effectiveness? I don't want to have to rely on Q to play PG for 25-30 minutes a night and I certainly don't want to have to rely on Harney to man the point ever again.

At C, Forsythe really didn't do enough last year to prove that he can take over for Zeke. I know Zeke got most of the minutes, and the gameplan was designed around his strengths more than Pats, but by the end of the season Pat was an out and out liability on the floor with his constant travelling on the offensive end and his tendency to get out of position on defense. I'm not comfortable with him having to play big minutes for us at this point. Ike Johnson comes in with a good bit of press from high school, but he will still be a true freshman and there are concerns over his conditioning. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see some "smaller" lineups this year. Perhaps with Kretzer, Harney and Tree in the frontcourt at the same time with no true C on the floor.

[akronzips71]

I actually share your concerns about PF.

However, I think that he was the backup for Zeke last year and was forced to play as if he was Zeke.

His strengths are different.

From all accounts, he can shoot. Zeke never had any kind of a shot until his senior year.

I think he will be used a little differently, and KD will design play around his strengths.

I really get a chuckle at all the Isiah Johnson stuff. Some people act like he is the Messiah.

He is a freshman who has never touched the ball in college. I hope he is the next Michael Jordan, but it is really too soon to have any idea how good or bad he will be.

I can remember some "highly touted" players in the past - Kyle Peterson "Mr. Florida Basketball", Dakota Huston, Josh Egner, a certain freshman named BLAKE who sat on the bench and is gone. All these guys were supposed to be really good, and none worked out.

So as far as the incoming freshmen, all we have is high hopes. Time will tell.

We can be effective with PF, Tree, Harney, Q, Jake and the other kid. The rest remains to be seen.

[Quickzips]

I actually share your concerns about PF.

However, I think that he was the backup for Zeke last year and was forced to play as if he was Zeke.

His strengths are different.

From all accounts, he can shoot. Zeke never had any kind of a shot until his senior year.

I think he will be used a little differently, and KD will design play around his strengths.

I really get a chuckle at all the Isiah Johnson stuff. Some people act like he is the Messiah.

He is a freshman who has never touched the ball in college. I hope he is the next Michael Jordan, but it is really too soon to have any idea how good or bad he will be.

I can remember some "highly touted" players in the past - Kyle Peterson "Mr. Florida Basketball", Dakota Huston, Josh Egner, a certain freshman named BLAKE who sat on the bench and is gone. All these guys were supposed to be really good, and none worked out.

So as far as the incoming freshmen, all we have is high hopes. Time will tell.

We can be effective with PF, Tree, Harney, Q, Jake and the other kid. The rest remains to be seen.

To be fair, at least one of the "highly touted" players you list came here as a walk-on (Peterson). It is pretty rare for a walk-on to come in and have a major impact on any team. He did finish up his eligibility here, and by all accounts was a well respected member of the team.

What is really strange to me about this team going into next year is that we look to be so well set up at the 2, 3 and 4 spots (I don't think it is much of a stretch to say best in the league at those 3 spots combined), but it could all mean very little if we don't get some solid PG play and a little bit out of our centers. PG is obviously the bigger concern simply based on how much responsibility is on the PG's shoulders. I think we can play and win in this league with either a 3 guard or 3 forward rotation and no true C out there. We've done it before. It isn't ideal, but it isn't a disaster either. Shaky PG play throughout the season is a lot harder to overcome.

I'm willing to give a little bit of the benefit of the doubt to Forsythe that he will be better now that he will be asked to do more and the system will be more designed around him, but I am not going to be completely comfortable until I see him perform at a high level for 5 or 6 games. Some of the mistakes he was making last year I can't simply contribute to the system (the constant shuffling of his pivot foot towards the end of the year being the most glaring example). I hope Pat is working his tail off to get better and not just sitting back and taking the approach that everything will fall into place just because Zeke is gone and KD has to adapt the system to his strengths.

[Dave in Green]

At the beginning of last season, I was impressed with the amount of movement Pat could make in the deep post without getting called for moving his pivot foot. For some reason, he seemed to regress during the season in that and other areas. It was disappointing that he didn't improve his overall game more as the season went on. In HS he went from an ordinary sub in his junior year to a go-to, star player as a senior. Maybe Coach Dambrot could check in with Pat's HS coach to find out what helped motivate that transformation. It may be as simple as building the offense more around him and making him the primary option on offense, and then letting him play through his mistakes rather than jerking him off the floor.

I agree that the Zips have good strength and depth at the 2/3/4 and really big question marks at the 5 and 1 positions. A lot of HS players come into the college game with good potential that ends up never being fully realized. The Zips will need at least one of their PGs and one of their centers to go from completely unproven at the D-I college level to better than average. Otherwise they will not be able to improve on last season's record. Stellar play from the 2/3/4 positions alone could make the Zips a good team but not an NCAA tournament game-winning team.

[GoZips]

Pat had been out of town with his family for several days. He is back. He actually made the effort to lift and keep in shape

while gone. He did better than expected at today's practice. He seemed in good spirits.

[ZachTheZip]

Pat had been out of town with his family for several days. He is back. He actually made the effort to lift and keep in shape

while gone. He did better than expected at today's practice. He seemed in good spirits.

Wasn't yesterday some kind of walk-on tryouts?

[GoZips]

Wasn't yesterday some kind of walk-on tryouts?

Not that I am aware of. The walk-ons are not allowed to practice until the Fall session is in school. Only scholarship players

are practicing. Summer practices are a bit different. It is one-on-one coaching doing drills, shooting, running. Pretty boring

to just sit and watch. Open gyms which are usually held evenings are where the kids get to play. Coaches are not allowed to

even watch open gym.

But, since there are only thirteen scholarship players your best chance of seeing the Zips is at Walsh University on Saturday

or Sunday starting at 9 AM. Check the web site given below. Some games are video taped and you can watch them on your PC.

Summer League Schedule

[Dave in Green]

No games on the schedule this Saturday (13th), just Sunday (14th).

[GoZips]

Cant do it State checks in as College Sports Madness #115 team. Third best in the MAC. Which means, according to

them, the power in the MAC now lays in the West. We'll see.

Are You Kidding Me?

[MDZip]

Cant do it State checks in as College Sports Madness #115 team. Third best in the MAC. Which means, according to

them, the power in the MAC now lays in the West. We'll see.

Are You Kidding Me?

Neither Ohio nor Buffalo has been seen yet. Could be the two of them.

[Z.I.P.]

Neither Ohio nor Buffalo has been seen yet. Could be the two of them.

Gee, I wonder what Gozips thinks of this comment: Carmelo Betancourt did not prove much during his freshman campaign, but he will be right in the mix for the starting point guard spot, especially if Evans needs time to adjust. Betancourt is not much of a shooter or a scorer, but if he can keep the turnovers down and get the scorers involved in the offense, the Zips will be happy. I think Carmelo has a lot of potential to score points -- maybe not Rickie Abreu-style, but I'm less concerned with the 1, than the 5.

[mes102]

I'll say Ohio, Toledo, and K.e.n.t ...For some reason, all these rankings, they like Can't better than us. But that's okay, we usually finish better than them

so far, I'm 1 for 1...One thing I've noticed the past few years, is that the preview rankings always put K.e.n.t ahead of us, but we finish ahead of them. I think you'll see Toledo for sure as one of the other two. Not sure about the third one, but thinking about these idiots, I think Ohio will be the third...

[GoZips]

so far, I'm 1 for 1...One thing I've noticed the past few years, is that the preview rankings always put K.e.n.t ahead of us, but we finish ahead of them. I think you'll see Toledo for sure as one of the other two. Not sure about the third one, but thinking about these idiots, I think Ohio will be the third...

Does it matter?

It is not where you start, rather, where you finish that matters.

Big Dog is in the house.

[akronzips71]

Enough big dog.

We will see how he actually does in a college game.

Until then, enough big dog.

[Dave in Green]

True Big Dog story: We were sitting on the sideline behind the scorer's table at the JAR watching practice this week, and the players were going all out. A loose ball came bouncing right at my face, and here comes Big Dog and another player running full speed right at me. I remember thinking how Big Dog looks even bigger when he's running right at you. Then my life flashed before my eyes. Good thing that big rig has great brakes. I survived untouched, but the scorer's table took a pretty good hit and dumped someone's cellphone into the trash can alongside the table. Any player who tries to take a charge from Big Dog when he's driving to the basket should be eligible for a Purple Heart.

[akronzips71]

True Big Dog story: We were sitting on the sideline behind the scorer's table at the JAR watching practice this week, and the players were going all out. A loose ball came bouncing right at my face, and here comes Big Dog and another player running full speed right at me. I remember thinking how Big Dog looks even bigger when he's running right at you. Then my life flashed before my eyes. Good thing that big rig has great brakes. I survived untouched, but the scorer's table took a pretty good hit and dumped someone's cellphone into the trash can alongside the table. Any player who tries to take a charge from Big Dog when he's driving to the basket should be eligible for a Purple Heart.

And which round do you expect him to be drafted in?

[GoZips]

True Big Dog story: We were sitting on the sideline behind the scorer's table at the JAR watching practice this week, and the players were going all out. A loose ball came bouncing right at my face, and here comes Big Dog and another player running full speed right at me. I remember thinking how Big Dog looks even bigger when he's running right at you. Then my life flashed before my eyes. Good thing that big rig has great brakes. I survived untouched, but the scorer's table took a pretty good hit and dumped someone's cellphone into the trash can alongside the table. Any player who tries to take a charge from Big Dog when he's driving to the basket should be eligible for a Purple Heart.

D.I.G. had little to worry about. I, on the other hand, had more than a seventh of a ton to worry about. For I was sitting

at the scorer's table. And, it was Matt Futch's cell phone that ended up in the trash basket.

As for Big Dog, you will continue to hear about him as that is his nick name. Every one calls him Big Dog, even

the coaches. We like promoting interest in our Zips, don't you?

[akronzips71]

D.I.G. had little to worry about. I, on the other hand, had more than a seventh of a ton to worry about. For I was sitting

at the scorer's table. And, it was Matt Futch's cell phone that ended up in the trash basket.

As for Big Dog, you will continue to hear about him as that is his nick name. Every one calls him Big Dog, even

the coaches. We like promoting interest in our Zips, don't you?

I fear you are cursing him by acting like he will play for one year and declare for the draft.

[Hilltopper]

I fear you are cursing him by acting like he will play for one year and declare for the draft.

Lighten up a little 71. Go Zips is just having some fun. It's only summer practice and we have to find something to talk about. Big Dog will have a nice career for the Zips, but he is still just a typical Freshman. Except that he is a mountain of a teenager.

[GoZips]

first item of business: Western Michigan picked as team #100 in Top 144 teams for 2013-14

WMU lost three starters and is relying on a squad of incoming freshmen to carry the day. Wondering if these observers

know the first thing about the Zips. Probably not. They ranked Akron at #128 and we lost just two starters.

second item: Summer update of practice. The freshmen are starting to "get it" on defense. The practice Friday (today)

was intense with plenty of going to the rack action. Many bruised bodies from today's practice. Big Dog and

Forsythe continue to go hard at the hole. Tree was a monster. He could not be denied. Outside, rangy shooting

by Reggie, Jake, Quincy and Nyles was blistering. They have a drill called 'four on four on four'. Blue team, white team

and a red team all playing against each other. Full court is played at fast break speed. Probably the toughest and best

drill I have watched all summer.

The freshmen are competing for one or maybe two spots on the roster. Do not be surprised if as many as three of them

will be red shirted. This is no indication of their talents and abilities. There are only two hundred minutes of player time

in a regulation game. Have some fun figuring out a starting line up and the reserves. At this point not even the starting

rotation is set. Yes, Tree and Q and Nick start (baring injuries because every one's grades are good). Battle for the post

between two outstanding players in Forsythe and Johnson. There will be a fight for the starting point guard slot between

Carmelo Betancourt and Nyles Evans. Do not count Deji Ibitayo out as he is having a great summer.

[akronzips71]

Zeke was a huge factor but I don't see us as #128

If Zeke was such a big factor, why wasn't he drafted?

I mean, they really can't have it both ways.

[Dave in Green]

@GoZips, thanks for the update on practice. I'll try to get to another one when things slow down a little on the home front. The Zips lost three starters (Zeke, Walsh and Abreu), same as WMU. That's a huge loss of starting talent, and losing Chauncey off the bench adds to the pain. Those four players averaged about half of the Zips' 200 minutes of PT per game last season. One review of the MAC I read predicted that WMU would be strong due to having the best returning center in the MAC. The Bronco's 6-11 Shayne Whittington may not be NBA material. But he's an established, experienced senior who was second team All-MAC as a junior, and led the MAC in double-doubles (points and rebounds) ahead of Tree. The Zips have good potential at center with Pat and Big Dog. But one or both of them have to prove themselves against other D-I teams before anyone will acknowledge that they're better than Whittington. I'm going to remain a little skeptical about how well the Zips will perform as a team this season until they prove to me how badly they want it and how well they work together in regular season games.