Rochester exhibition game tonite

[Hilltopper]

Terry is the good cop. Without the bad cop there last night, I didn't see much passion from the players. KD would have blown a gasket at about the 10 minute mark of the first half.

[johnnyzip84]

Hopefully the youngsters catch on quickly, or Tree will blow a fuse in mid-December..

Tree definitely looked frustrated with his teammates at times. But I can think of at least one occasion when this was not warranted (i.e. he was the one throwing a pass no one could have caught and remained in bounds).

Like many have said, I liked what I saw of the 2 FR PGs. Noah looks to be a little more polished and in command at this stage. I like that he is equally comfortable going to his right or left, and that he’ll finish with his left.

I’m a little concerned that Gladden, hyped by a few on the board, did not exactly set himself apart against a pedestrian foe. Hopefully that’s just opening game jitters for a newcomer.

The team looks like it’ll be competitive in the MAC. I’ll need to see a few more games before I think they should be favored to win it however.

[ziptrumpet87]

I thought Antino's defense was better than Noah, and thought Noah looked better on offense. Good to see the team communicating on switches no matter who was out there.

[Dave in Green]

...I’m a little concerned that Gladden, hyped by a few on the board, did not exactly set himself apart against a pedestrian foe. Hopefully that’s just opening game jitters for a newcomer. ...

As one of the Gladden hypers, I'll try to offer a little perspective. BJ has a unique set of abilities on this team. He's big and strong enough to guard Tree in Zips scrimmages, and he also has great ball control to the extent that Coach Dambrot thinks he can play point forward. BJ only played 14 minutes in the Rochester game and did nothing spectacular to bring the house down. That doesn't mean he wasn't offering tantalizing hints of his capabilities.

On defense, BJ spent a lot of time out at the 3-point line guarding Rochester's guards. He was quick enough to do a nice job of staying in front of his man and not allowing penetration. That's pretty impressive for a forward who holds his own against Tree in scrimmages. On offense he looked comfortable handling the ball and had no turnovers. He was only 1-4 from the field, as his shot was off like most of his teammates. What's noteworthy is that he showed the same lack of fear he's shown in Zips scrimmages in taking the ball to the rim.

Skip earlier expressed his concern that the Zips needed someone like Q who could penetrate and finish at the rim. That's BJ's game. He's strong enough to be considered an undersized 4 but penetrates like a wing. He needs more development, but his potential is high. Noah and Antino are also good at penetration and finishing at the rim, so I think before the season is over we'll see a lot more of this from those three players than we did from Q last season.

[K92]

I think the correct term is hypist.

[1981 grad]

I know this is a new season but had flashbacks to last season:

Scored only one basket in the first 10 minutes

Nyles Evans missing wide left, wide right, whatever. (I should not pick on him since everyone shot horribly)

Our guards taking long threes and not getting close to scoring.

Tree getting frustrated

I know this was our first game but everyone in the Jar was expecting a better team. The only positive that I saw was our offensive rebounding. Our guards had some nice drives to the basket in the second half but I believe we had worn them out by that time. I did not see anyone really stand out last night.

[skip-zip]

Skip earlier expressed his concern that the Zips needed someone like Q who could penetrate and finish at the rim. That's BJ's game.

I hope you're right. He'd be incredibly valuable.

From one of the first times I saw him, I felt like I was seeing Brett McKnight. A 6-6 guy who looked like he had some build, and was physically strong, and was multi-dimensional. Could play at the perimeter, and strong enough to play closer to the basket as well. If he can drive effectively and finish, he would increase his value even more.

[B4110]

I think u may need to double check your stats on the Western Michigan second half....don't know what game u were watching.

[Captain Kangaroo]

I did not see anyone really stand out last night.

I think that was my biggest disappointment of the night. Between Gladden, Cheatum, Jackson and the two Fr. guards, I was hoping to see some glimpse of "wow-factor." Instead, everyone had a pedestrian effort.

It's early...we'll see how Friday goes.

[Dr Z]

I think that was my biggest disappointment of the night. Between Gladden, Cheatum, Jackson and the two Fr. guards, I was hoping to see some glimpse of "wow-factor." Instead, everyone had a pedestrian effort.

You should go to practices, that's where everyone shines.

[skip-zip]

You should go to practices, that's where everyone shines.

True.

[johnnyzip84]

What's noteworthy is that he showed the same lack of fear he's shown in Zips scrimmages in taking the ball to the rim.

I'm not alarmed or anything, but I was simply hoping to see a little more of this against an "inferior" foe. Perhaps he did this more after I left about 6 minutes into the 2nd half (please don't ask why I left early ).

[Staton14]

I'm not alarmed or anything, but I was simply hoping to see a little more of this against an "inferior" foe. Perhaps he did this more after I left about 6 minutes into the 2nd half (please don't ask why I left early ).

Why did you leave early?

[Captain Kangaroo]

Why did you leave early?

Hint - when he left, he shuffled.

[johnnyzip84]

Hint - when he left, he shuffled.

Well played, CK

[Warriors4life]

I watch the game and thought the team chemistry was a lot better than last year. I can't really make any judgments until they have play more games. I did like seeing Kwan Cheatham Jr playing the post. He played only 13 minutes but in those 13 minutes he had 7 pts and 7 rebounds and no turnovers. I think overall that this team will be better than last year.

[Dave in Green]

You should go to practices, that's where everyone shines.

You need to get rid of the shills who post here about Zips basketball practices and assign more qualified reporters.

[Dave in Green]

I watch the game and thought the team chemistry was a lot better than last year. I can't really make any judgments until they have play more games. I did like seeing Kwan Cheatham Jr playing the post. He played only 13 minutes but in those 13 minutes he had 7 pts and 7 rebounds and no turnovers. I think overall that this team will be better than last year.

I'm sorry to have to admit that I missed this in reading the box score. Not only did Kwan have the second most rebounds to Tree of any Zips player, he did it in just 13 minutes on the floor. That means Kwan had more rebounds per minute played than any Zips player including Tree. That was an impressive performance as the backup center to Pat with Big Dog still recuperating from his broken wrist. I think that Kwan will have a major impact on the team's performance, if not this season certainly next season and beyond.