"Back the Zips" Taking On New Meaning Now

[UAZip0510]

It's easy to take pictures with the players and wear bracelets that say "Back the Zips" but now is the time to prove it. We obviously support the team on the court, but we also need to remind the players from time to time that we care about them off of the court as well.

I've never met Demetrius Treadwell. From all accounts I've heard, he's a great, intelligent, passionate young man. He's been through a lot of adversity, at one point having to leave his public school to recover credits and get back on track to graduate high school. He came to Akron having to prove himself before anything else, and he did. Last season he missed the first few games because of a compliance error and he responded by delivering his best season yet, culminating in a dominating performance against OU en route to becoming MAC Tournament MVP.

He came into this season with goals set high. He’s been selected preseason All-MAC by Lindy’s Sports, Athlon Sports, Sporting News and USA Today Sports and told George Thomas in an article posted only a little over a month ago that his personal goals were to “win a national championship and be the best player I can be.”

It seems as if right now Demetrius is a bit lost and is at a crossroads in his life. Judging by his actions and his Twitter feed, he is frustrated and doesn't know what to do. It's at these times of adversity in life that we all need a support system to get us through. Let's be a part of that support system.

If he quits basketball many opportunities go away. The possibility of an NBA career, the possibility of a career overseas, and most importantly, the possibility of earning his diploma from The University of Akron...it could all go away. While I'm hopeful in time that Tree will re-think things, return to the team, and continue on his path to these great accomplishments, I think now is a great time for us to get behind this young man and make sure he knows we support him.

Treadwell is a big Twitter user - so if you're on Twitter, send him some positive vibes to @tall_ass_tree with the hashtag #BackOurTree. If you aren't, feel free to post a message to him on here and after we get some responses, someone can tweet the link to him.

"Back the Zips" has taken on a new meaning now. It needs to be much more about attendance...it needs to be getting a young man important to us, our program, and our university back on track so he can go on to accomplish the incredible things he is capable of doing in life.

[Gcc]

1

[B4110]

+1

+2

[LZIp]

perfectly said.

[UAZip0510]

Already seeing some Twitter action...keep it up or post a message here!

[skip-zip]

Fans do indeed need to rally in situations like this.

If you recall, people really showed some extra energy and enthusiasm last year during the Ken+ game at Rhodes, right after the Abreu situation, and carried that into the MAC Tourney.

I hope it happens again. Not only for the Treadwell situation, but because we've just lost two games. This team needs a huge lift from us.

[Dave in Green]

@UAZip0510, you have a way of coming through with just the right perspective at just the right time. Before seeing this thread, I made a post in the other thread that fits in with what you have said here. So I'll just say that I completely agree with everything you've said and add a link to my other post.

[Dr Z]

I hope Tree does whats best for Tree, whatever that is. I love watching him play, but don't pretend to know what has been said or done to him to cause his actions. Like Elton wrote, this could be a hiccup, or a major domino. So far, he has missed a practice, I'm not getting overly excited. Good luck Tree.

[Z.I.P.]

Phewwwww! For a while there I was afraid the Tree Giant Head would go unused for the holidays!