akronzips71 Posted November 11, 2013 Report Share Posted November 11, 2013 @skip-zip, if I understand your question correctly, I'd say that while the basic plays remain the same regardless of who's at the 1, the options would be altered to some degree based on the individual skills of who's playing the position. Iso plays for Q are always an option, regardless of whether he's playing the 1, 2 or 3. As for Nick running the show, remember that the only reason he was called on in a pinch last season is because Q wasn't available. Q may not yet have shown that he's a better PG option than Nyles or Melo, but he's certainly better suited to the duties than Nick. When Q was playing at UNO he was listed as a swingman or wing. When he came to UA he picked up the small forward label. That was probably because the Zips were long on guards and short on forwards back then. But everything we've seen of Q since he arrived at UA suggests that he's a classic wing who can swing back and forth between the 2 and 3. He's also spent a lot of time working on PG skills due to the question mark at that position for the Zips. Now the following is purely speculative on my part, and I have no inside word on why this decision was made. But if the thinking is that Q will be mainly used at the 1 and 2 positions this season and not at the 3, that creates additional need at the 3. Kwan is technically a 4, but he's really a 3 who just had a big growth spurt. He's fully capable of playing both the 3 and 4 positions. I can't say for sure whether that was part of the decision not to redshirt Kwan. But it seems to me that there's some logic to adding Kwan to the Nick/Tree/Jake mix in the 3/4 rotation if Q's services are needed elsewhere. Last night I watched the replay of the MAC championship game against OU, which I still have on my DVR. Harney was HORRIBLE at the point. Melo actually was not at all bad. We had way way too many turnovers, but most were NOT on Melo. We were lucky to escape with our lives, who knew that DJ would be a total flop? If he was on, we would probably have been toast. But, a couple of things I took away from that game: Zeke was a monster. He just totally shut down their offense, in ways that don't show up in the stats. He altered probably at least a dozen shots. He scored and got bounds. The PG is a problem that I think we will solve. After watching that game, I think Melo may come along. He really was not all that bad. The big problem is at the 5. Pat is NOT the replacement for Zeke. Big Dog may be good, but he seems slow and flat footed. Probably too much to expect from a true freshman. He will be good in the future, maybe not so much now. Cheatham is a really interesting case. At 6'9" 1/2, he is really the same height as BD and just about as tall as Pat. He looks athletic, if he can leap, he will PLAY BIGGER than either of those guys, so he may have the potential to give us back some of what we lost with Zeke. The other thing is that Walsh was a true Major-Major talent. He could show some real skills. And CG could help a lot in the clutch. Q will "sort of" be the replacement for one of them, but McA and Jake will really need to step up for us to have a good year. Right now I am not that optimistic about this season. A lot of things have to come together, a competent PG AND a good big man. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy_ua_00 Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 anyone going to be on here during the game? Yes I will be Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Can't State at Temple as part of the same 24 hour package as the Zips (with a much better start time). As much as I hate to root for the Flushes, I will if it benefits the Zips - which it would in this case. Can't State down by a point and have hit 10 3's. Zips better work on defending the three. Edit: And the Flushes upset the Owls. Should help in RPI down the line. C'mon Zips now follow suit and pull your own upset. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zip Watcher Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 We were lucky to escape with our lives .... Sorry, but I stopped reading right there. The Zips won by 19 didn't they, and held the Bobcats to 20 points less than their season average? There was not an escape in any regard. It was an old fashion @$$ kicking the likes of which haven't been seen too often in the MAC Title Game. When Melo drew the charge on Cooper at about the 10 minute mark in the 2nd half, the Bobcats were done .. had given up. It was a big play .. he played a good game. He's got some growing and improving to do, but let's not forget he was the starting PG on a team that won the MAC Tournament in dominating fashion. B) Go Zips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 How'd it go against VCU? @BigDog and @Momager can split the point guard duties against MAC teams and the Zips still win. This thread is about upper-tier competition. At least as far as our schedule is concerned, OUs 2012-13 team clearly qualified as upper tier competition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Sorry, but I stopped reading right there. The Zips won by 19 didn't they, and held the Bobcats to 20 points less than their season average? There was not an escape in any regard. It was an old fashion @$ kicking the likes of which haven't been seen too often in the MAC Title Game. When Melo drew the charge on Cooper at about the 10 minute mark in the 2nd half, the Bobcats were done .. had given up. It was a big play .. he played a good game. He's got some growing and improving to do, but let's not forget he was the starting PG on a team that won the MAC Tournament in dominating fashion. Go Zips! actually, Harney was the starting PG on a team that won the MAC in dominating fashion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted November 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Let's not get too carried away with the emotion of last season's amazing MAC tournament championship. As a team, the Zips performed extraordinarily well at the Q. They came together as a team and performed way beyond expectations after the loss of their star PG. It all caught up with them in the VCU game, as most of those not emotionally involved correctly predicted. Harney did an incredible job of doing something he's not really built to do. Now, replay that whole season with Harney as the primary PG. Not pretty. I give the Zips huge credit for all they accomplished last season. But let's be realistic about the importance of having a real PG over the course of a long season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 The offense wasn't all that great in the MAC championship game. The defense, with Harney guarding Cooper, was outstanding. This year, we have Q back to shut down the opposing star player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted November 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 @akronzips71, don't give up on Pat Forsythe too quickly. He may not be a guaranteed college star, but he has the ability to play at a high level. In some ways, Pat was an even later bloomer than Zeke. Pat went from an invisible backup as a HS junior to an all-star offensive and defensive center as a senior. Injuries hindered his progress at WVU, and he's shown only brief flashes of what he's capable of doing as Zeke's backup at UA. Coach Dambrot had enough confidence in Pat to play him 28 minutes against Coastal Carolina. His stat lines may not look great, but he didn't make the silly mistakes he did last season as Zeke's backup. It may be that he will respond to long minutes by becoming more confident and delivering on both ends of the court. Let's give him a fair chance to see how he responds to being given more responsibility, and see if he can rekindle the magic of his senior HS season when he went from invisible backup to all-star. On the other hand, there's no doubt in my mind that Q will be much more than a "sort of" replacement for Walsh and Gilliam. Count on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 can't get over how much the fans on the St Marys board are underestimated us. They interpreted KD's quotes in an article on FSO that he is trying to hint that he thinks we will suck this year... Please please win the game Zips! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy_ua_00 Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Less than an hour till tip off. GO ZIPS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 kind of curious what kind of attendance this game is going to bring. Wichita St seems like a pretty packed house considering there tip-off was at 12am local time as well. A weaker crowd can only be a good thing for the Zips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy_ua_00 Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Prediction time? Zips 72 gaels 68 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Prediction time? Zips 72 gaels 68 I like yours Too much of a zombie right now to do any thinking lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Looks like the Wichita State / WKU game will run over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy_ua_00 Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Looks like the Wichita State / WKU game will run over. Probably not by much. Only 5 min left and game is basically out of reach for wku. Won't be much fouling down the stretch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 yeah just a tad. the byu/stanford game before ran over a good bit as well. wonder if it has anything to do with this crackdown on fouls. should be available on espn3 if you do not want to miss any of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy_ua_00 Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Frenchie said smu doesn't press much. Only forced LT into 6 turnovers which bodes well for our lack of good PG play Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Melo getting the start at pg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy_ua_00 Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Game on espnu untol other game is finished. Their arena is EMPTY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy_ua_00 Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Being agressive going at the big man. Good defense so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 we need to slow this waldo guy down Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted November 12, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 Woke up without alarm precisely at 3 a.m. Guess I really wanted to see this game. Good to see the Zips aren't off to a slow start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 um goaltend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 12, 2013 Report Share Posted November 12, 2013 great box out by big dog! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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