UAZip0510 Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Who is your pick and why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 I voted for Nate Linhart. As far as I remember he was the only player who gave the program a total of 4 years without any distraction. He was productive since his freshman year. He was a leader by doing and a stat sheet stuffer in every way. Never had grade or off the court issue of any sorts. Best Zips memory ever: the 2009 team that was supposed to be a rebuilding team after the graduation of Wood, Dials, Middleton, and Milum... I remember a young struggling backcourt of Mcneese and Mclannahan and a front court of Bardo and the McKnight brothers, led by only one senior (Linhart) managed to win the first ever mac tournament. As the rowdies always nicknamed him: M V P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Zeke. We're seeing the difference in our defense right now. He had such an impact, and something that really was hard to quantify. We miss him. All the other players were/are great, but they didn't have that extra dimension Zeke had. No one in the MAC ever has. Tree has the potential to surpass him by next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 I voted for Nate Linhart. He had a combination of skills that made him unique. Good all around talent and a great leader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 I voted for Nate Linhart. As far as I remember he was the only player who gave the program a total of 4 years without any distraction. He was productive since his freshman year. He was a leader by doing and a stat sheet stuffer in every way. Never had grade or off the court issue of any sorts. Loved Linhart, of course there isn't a player on that list that I didn't enjoy watching play, but I think Zeke was head and shoulders (literally and figuratively) above everyone else. The only thing he didn't do that anyone else on this list did was win MAC POY and he should have. But I find your comments on Nate interesting because all of them could apply to Zeke. No distractions at all, productive since a freshman, and a leader most especially in his senior year (just like Nate). My real criteria was that I would show up just to see Zeke play (nobody altered a game quite like he did), I never felt quite that way about Nate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akron1 Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 I voted for Tree. I am a Tree Hugger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjackson123 Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 My first reaction was to hit other and make my case for Cvetinovic... He was definitely my favorite Zip ever to watch. But to fairly and unbiasedly answer the question - I voted for Zeke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Hip Zip Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Wood.... This guy played much bigger than his size and was a beast on the glass with good offensive/ defensive skills as well...... Great feet for a big man.... This guy gave 100% at all times. He also had to come back from a severe season ending knee injury. J Wood went on to dominate in Europe after leaving the Zips. I understand that memories do fade but he's easily my favorite Zip over the last ten years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopper Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 The only reason I didn't vote for Zeke is because even he admitted that his heart wasn't in it all the time. Linhart played his guts out and was mentally tougher than Zeke. If Zeke had Linhart's drive and attitude he would be playing in the NBA. I still love Zeke though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GP1 Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Wood.... I'm with you. Coaches talk about "coaching toughness". Any guy who has to be coached into toughness isn't tough. Wood was a tough guy before Akron and he was a tough guy after Akron. He worked hard and produced. That's enough for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Loved Linhart, of course there isn't a player on that list that I didn't enjoy watching play, but I think Zeke was head and shoulders (literally and figuratively) above everyone else. The only thing he didn't do that anyone else on this list did was win MAC POY and he should have. But I find your comments on Nate interesting because all of them could apply to Zeke. No distractions at all, productive since a freshman, and a leader most especially in his senior year (just like Nate). My real criteria was that I would show up just to see Zeke play (nobody altered a game quite like he did), I never felt quite that way about Nate. I don't want to come as a Zeke hater but I wouldn't say that he was productive for four years. In his first two years he was a non factor on the offense and a fouling machine on the defense. None of us minded of course because we saw the potential. But again, although not as flashy as Zeke, Linhart was a soldier giving us solid minutes from day 1 in the program. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 I don't want to come as a Zeke hater but I wouldn't say that he was productive for four years. In his first two years he was a non factor on the offense and a fouling machine on the defense. None of us minded of course because we saw the potential. But again, although not as flashy as Zeke, Linhart was a soldier giving us solid minutes from day 1 in the program. I don't think anyone would hate on any these players but I think the belief that Zeke didn't make an immediate contribution is a bit of a myth probably because expectations were so high for him (as opposed to Nate who was a virtual unknown when he was recruited). For fun here are the points and rebound averages for both Nate and Zeke for their first three years. So who's who? Points and rebounds Player 1 --------- 5.3 3.9 5.9 3.8 8.5 4.7 Player 2 --------- 5.1 3.9 8.5 4.9 10.4 5.4 Pretty similar statistics for years 1 and 2 and I think demonstrates that both players made an impact during their first two years. Player 1 is Nate and Player 2 is Zeke. Both of course had awesome senior years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 Well stated... I don't think it is possible for me to argue with your numbers ! Like you suggested, I am a big fan of all the players on the list and each one of them have special memories and moments in the minds of all zips fans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave in Green Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 @MDZip, love the stats. But you need to recheck them as several of Zeke's scoring and rebounding season averages are incorrect. StatSheet.com is a good source. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted December 27, 2013 Report Share Posted December 27, 2013 @MDZip, love the stats. But you need to recheck them as several of Zeke's scoring and rebounding season averages are incorrect. StatSheet.com is a good source. I got both Nate's and Zeke's stats directly from the Men's Basketball Media Guides on GoZips.com, but apparently I copied a few of them wrong. I fixed them, thanks for the update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ziptrumpet87 Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Wood.... This guy played much bigger than his size and was a beast on the glass with good offensive/ defensive skills as well...... Great feet for a big man.... This guy gave 100% at all times. He also had to come back from a severe season ending knee injury. J Wood went on to dominate in Europe after leaving the Zips. I understand that memories do fade but he's easily my favorite Zip over the last ten years. I agree Wood was great... but now we have the whole Tree. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomzip Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Zeke. We're seeing the difference in our defense right now. He had such an impact, and something that really was hard to quantify. We miss him. All the other players were/are great, but they didn't have that extra dimension Zeke had. No one in the MAC ever has. Tree has the potential to surpass him by next year. Ditto, you can tell there is something missing here this year. I hope the adjustments will be made by end of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Romeo is the only MAC MVP Until someone equals that, that's my vote. There were just too many "good" players during this era, but none that truly stand out against the others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigzipguy Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 There were outstanding contributions from all listed. I will pick a guard because of his shooting and toughness and many will not agree. Nick Dials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Z Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 For me it's always hard to pick an individual in a team sport. WAY to many variables. I think Zeke was the player that fit KD's system best. Is that considered the "Best KD-Era Player?" I think Tree has the potential to be the most talented player. If he played at a few other schools in the mac I won't mention, I think he would have better stats, which fans seem to put emphasis on. Skip makes a good point about Romeo. To me, there is no clear cut "winner", but it's a fun topic with some entertaining answers that I enjoyed reading. IMO nobody is wrong, so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdt1420 Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 There were outstanding contributions from all listed. I will pick a guard because of his shooting and toughness and many will not agree. Nick Dials +1, I voted for Zeke, but we had a mancrush on Dials. Created a whole bunch of Bill Brasky/Chuck Norris sayings for him when I was in school. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyzip84 Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 I voted "other" since Alex Abreu wasn't an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipgrad01 Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 I think these game are showing that it is without a doubt Zeke Marshall. I cant count how many times in the last few years that we gave up penetration to the rim and Zeke would just wipe it away. We dont have that this year and we cant stop anyone. We are getting destroyed by teams taking it to the rim on us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottditzen Posted December 28, 2013 Report Share Posted December 28, 2013 Romeo is the only MAC MVP Until someone equals that, that's my vote. There were just too many "good" players during this era, but none that truly stand out against the others. Exactly. For me Romeo edges J Wood for that reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GJGood Posted January 6, 2014 Report Share Posted January 6, 2014 Voted for Dru. I just loved the way he seemed to run the offense and I think nothing is a better building block for basketball success than a point guard that has a really good assist to turnover ratio. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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