Bethune-Cookman - Could be a tough game

[akzipper]

Probably an overreaction, but at 15-15 it seemed like the Zips were sleepwalking. Something happens every season.

Luckily they stepped up and went on a huge run we knew they were capable of.

[Dave in Green]

The Zips have a lot of talented players, and it's tough for them to get up for a game against a badly outgunned opponent. When they finally threw the switch after playing even to 15-15, the Zips outscored the Wildcats 39-6 over the next 12 minutes. If they had played 40 minutes like they did those 12, they would only have been running up the score on a much less talented team. Oral Roberts will be a better test Monday night.

[The Hip Zip]

While Kwan was on the floor tonight I focused on just him on the floor, every move. He may have to pay his dues as a freshman but this guy will be a GREAT player for the Zips.

[akronzips71]

While Kwan was on the floor tonight I focused on just him on the floor, every move. He may have to pay his dues as a freshman but this guy will be a GREAT player for the Zips.

I agree with you. The first time I saw Tree play I felt the same way.

He is going to be very very good.

[skip-zip]

Probably an overreaction, but at 15-15 it seemed like the Zips were sleepwalking. Something happens every season.

Luckily they stepped up and went on a huge run we knew they were capable of.

I wasn't too bothered about the score being 15-15 after about 10 min. of play. I was much more bothered by the lazy way some guys were playing after we went on the run to get the 30 pt. lead before halftime. They played us fairly evenly for more than 20 minutes after that.

Some people can criticize those who weren't happy with the "sleepwalking" for most of the game, but I can tell you that the guy running our team didn't look happy either.

I join with those who were watching Kwan quite closely. I'll say this again. We need him. We'll need more help in the paint both this year, and beyond. Right now at least, Kwan and Big Dog are our future around the rim.

[Dave in Green]

I've never seen Coach Dambrot look happy during a game, so nothing new there. If the Zips were up by 100 points with 5 seconds left and the opponent scored the last bucket of the game due to a defensive lapse, Coach Dambrot would be unhappy and would let his players know it. That's why he's such a good coach. He's always trying to get the best from his players.

This game was good training for the Zips to guard the ball against some quick players pressing hard, and the Zips performed well. Bethune-Cookman applied strong full-court defensive pressure throughout the game with lots of traps. The Zips responded with their fewest turnovers of the season (11) and also scored their highest number of assists (17). The game also presented an opportunity to play various combinations of all 11 scholarship players who haven't redshirted. None of the 11 played more than 23 minutes or less than 10. The Zips got what they needed out of this game, the first in a string of 7 increasingly tough games over 14 days.

[GP1]

While I didn't see the game, I'd like to remind sports fans about some things that sometimes happen when a much better team plays a lesser team.

1. The lesser team is allowed to play well too.

2. The lesser team will have a run of good play in a game and in this game it looks like it happened early.

3. The better team may look like they are coasting early, but the coach may want to be trying put as little as possible on film. This happens all the time in early season football games when a BCS team plays a close game against a non BCS team or IAA team. My guess is the Zips were working on "blocking & tackling" Saturday. It was more of a "team building" exercise for the Zips than a basketball game.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I think watching Malone play Bethune-Cookman would have been fun.

The only interesting things I observed from this game were -

1.) I want to see if Ibitayo can perform against upper-tier competition. He's now proven he can provide serviceable minutes against lower-level teams. And that is a noteworthy step forward. Let's see how he does in the next two games.

2.) Diggs remains our most creative passer. If he could trade his high-dribble cuts to the basket...which always get stolen...for a few assists...I think he's still our best PG option. If he still wants to play the isolation guy at the top of the key, then forget it. Put him at the wing.

3.) Evans is playing with some confidence. His 3 stroke looks better and better every game. If he can simply manage the game at point guard, and hit his open looks, we can run a decent offense.

4.) How about the girl in the 6 inch heels and size 0 skirt behind the B-C bench?

Nice warm up for tonight's game. ORU will be a good barometer of our 2013-14 potential. A win by 7+ would bode well for the future.

[MaxZIP]

4.) How about the girl in the 6 inch heels and size 0 skirt behind the B-C bench?

Nice warm up for tonight's game. ORU will be a good barometer of our 2013-14 potential. A win by 7+ would bode well for the future.

She looked like a cartoon character.

[skip-zip]

While I didn't see the game, I'd like to remind sports fans about some things that sometimes happen when a much better team plays a lesser team.

2. The lesser team will have a run of good play in a game and in this game it looks like it happened early.

I wish it was just "a run" of good play. Instead, WE were the team who had a run of good play, in the last part of the first half. Besides that period of time, they played us evenly, or outplayed us in the other 30 or so minutes of the game.

Sorry. There were several guys who played very, very lazily in this game. If that's going to happen in a game like this, then give more of the playing time to the guys who really want to play.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I wish it was just "a run" of good play. Instead, WE were the team who had a run of good play, in the last part of the first half. Besides that period of time, they played us evenly, or outplayed us in the other 30 or so minutes of the game.

Sorry. There were several guys who played very, very lazily in this game. If that's going to happen in a game like this, then give more of the playing time to the guys who really want to play.

I think you watched a different game than everyone else.

[zippy5]

We won by 28. Must have been a hell of a run.

[skip-zip]

We won by 28. Must have been a hell of a run.

It was. During the last part of the first half.

I wonder what game some of you folks were watching too.

[Hilltopper]

The second half was nothing more than a glorified practice. Lots of different combinations and players looking for some PT. Diggs only played 19 minutes, most of them in the first half. I don't fault the players for struggling to keep their focus when it was obvious we could have blown these guys out by 50 if we had kept the pedal to the metal. I think Melo is slowly playing himself out of the rotation. Late in the second half, KD almost inserted Ricardo Hill into the lineup before he thought better of it.

[MaxZIP]

1.) Tree looked great and relaxed for the first time this year. Good scoring and effort. More please

2.) Harney played well and got some points in the paint. More please

3.) Jake and Reggie knocked down some shots. More please

4.) Big Dog is looking better each game

5.) Nyles Evans with better handles and hit some shots....also didn't s%$t the bed against the press

6.) Deji was crashing the boards and putting points on the board

7.) Diggs looked good at the point but needs to stop the dribble drive.

Good effort all around. This game showed how hard the team is working on their individual weaknesses. The entire team played better together and KD has set his 10 deep rotation.

[Dave in Green]

The Wildcats' biggest run in the whole game was when they outscored the Zips by 8 points (11-3) over a span of 3:55 -- the last 3:55 of the game.

[Dr Z]

The second half was nothing more than a glorified practice. Lots of different combinations and players looking for some PT. Diggs only played 19 minutes, most of them in the first half. I don't fault the players for struggling to keep their focus when it was obvious we could have blown these guys out by 50 if we had kept the pedal to the metal. I think Melo is slowly playing himself out of the rotation. Late in the second half, KD almost inserted Ricardo Hill into the lineup before he thought better of it.

This is the game I watched.

[MaxZIP]

Diggs only played 19 minutes, most of them in the first half.

I think Melo is slowly playing himself out of the rotation.

Late in the second half, KD almost inserted Ricardo Hill into the lineup before he thought better of it.

I predicted that KD would run the big minutes guys the entire game. Diggs gave up some min to Carmelo/Nyles/Big Dog. Need to get PG and Post figured out before the big games start.

I hope Melo is able to handle the loss in status. He needs to work on his handles vs the press and shooting.

Too early in the season for the bench bunch.

[akronzips71]

Melo has played himself right out of the rotation. He is worse than Deji was when we all wanted him to transfer out.

I think I hear a DII school calling his name.

[Dave in Green]

The problem with Melo transferring is that the Zips lose one of their best PG options at the end of this season when Q graduates. Assuming that everyone else returns, that leaves Nyles and Melo as the only two options currently available for next season. Best case scenario is that Nyles develops into a quality 30-minute-per-game player and Melo becomes a good enough backup to cover the remaining minutes. It would be risky to rely on finding a new recruit -- even another juco player -- who could step right into the Zips' system and run the point as a backup to Nyles better than Melo as an experienced junior next season. And if Nyles doesn't develop into a good D1 PG by the end of this season, next season becomes an even bigger problem at the point.

[phil]

Give Melo a little credit. He had a really nice alley oop pass and played under control the first half. He even banked in a foul shot. I practiced that today and that is not easy to do.

HOwever, the second half he had a couple of turnovers and several fouls. He did not last long.

I don't know how you can be a division one guard and not develop a consistant shot. He is not scoring, turns the ball over and picks up quick fouls. Not a recipe for success.

[skip-zip]

Give Melo a little credit. He had a really nice alley oop pass and played under control the first half. He even banked in a foul shot. I practiced that today and that is not easy to do.

HOwever, the second half he had a couple of turnovers and several fouls. He did not last long.

Are you sure? You mean, the 2nd half wasn't just meant to be a practice session?

He wasn't the only one who got pulled for playing carelessly in the 2nd half. But, don't be pointing this out to some people on this board, who contend that it was OK that we played like crap in the 2nd half, or that we were just resting people, or that it was "pretty much a practice session", etc.

Unfortunately, we only played about 7 good minutes the entire game, and the guys who were sleepwalking the other 33 minutes were sometimes pretty noticeable. Obviously, it didn't go unnoticed by the coaches, as you point out.

[Dave in Green]

... Unfortunately, we only played about 7 good minutes the entire game, and the guys who were sleepwalking the other 33 minutes were sometimes pretty noticeable. ...

Recheck your math. The 39-6 run went from 9:48 of the first half to 18:46 of the second half, or 11 minutes, 2 seconds. Later in the second half, the Zips also had a pair of 2- or 3-minute runs of 7-0 and 8-0, which is not characteristic of "sleepwalking." Of course there were also periods of uninspired execution, which is typical of most college games. No one's denying that. Let's get real here. It was not a great game and it was not a disaster. Anyone trying to push either of those scenarios uphill is only going to give themselves a hernia.

[phil]

I find it hard to judge this team when they play a weak team. Is the team playing well or is the other team not that good. Tonight should be a good contest. I hope these guys realize that they are being judged every minute.

[LZIp]

Recheck your math. The 39-6 run went from 9:48 of the first half to 18:46 of the second half, or 11 minutes, 2 seconds. Later in the second half, the Zips also had a pair of 2- or 3-minute runs of 7-0 and 8-0, which is not characteristic of "sleepwalking." Of course there were also periods of uninspired execution, which is typical of most college games. No one's denying that. Let's get real here. It was not a great game and it was not a disaster. Anyone trying to push either of those scenarios uphill is only going to give themselves a hernia.

Now we both know that Skip likes to ignore facts when attempting to make his point.