Tree Treadwell Thread

[skip-zip]

With all due respect, please go away then. If you aren't supporting this program when things are bad, I don't want you around when things are good again. Josh Egner, Alex Abreu, Quincy Diggs, Nick Harney, and Demetrius Treadwell - five players in eleven seasons (and Diggs returned matured and humbled and graduated from UA, so really four).

If you want to focus on those four guys and ignore Nate Linhart, Brian Walsh, Dru Joyce, Nick Dials, Zeke Marshall, etc. - and current guys like Jake Kretzer, Noah Robotham, Reggie McAdams, Antino Jackson, etc - that's your choice. If you want to believe these guys aren't better when they leave than when they arrive, you are entitled to that opinion, although I strongly disagree. Every program in America is going to have disciplinary and/or legal issues pop up. My concern is how the university and program respond, and ours do so in a swift and stern matter.

I hope you're just upset and you reconsider, but if not, best wishes to you finding a new program to follow.

Perfect.

And acknowledging what Keith has accomplished with many of these young men has not been emphasized enough in this discussion.

[Derrt]

I absolutely do not want the program to fail.

Lets see: Q beat up his GF and was kicked out of school and he came back.... Nick was failing drug test after drug test and was kept around.... KD was fighting and fighting to allow Alex to be allowed to come back to the program....

I never said anything negative about Tree. All that I said was that Akronzip71 will probably not defend Tree when the facts come out.

As a fan and supporter, am I out of line to question some of the decisions that they've made to keep (or try to keep) players around that have been in trouble?

Sorry if I am not a 2,000+ poster who defends everything that they do.

Please shut your mouth when referencing Q. You don't know what happened that night in the apt or at the club. Thanks.

Go zips

[Staton14]

Please shut your mouth when referencing Q. You don't know what happened that night in the apt or at the club. Thanks.

Go zips

Really, we shouldn't be speculating on any of these situations. Its unfair to all involved.

[Warriors4life]

It's amazing what I'm reading on these post. Just because you lose one player does't define the team as a whole. This team needs to refocus and come together as team to win games. I know Tree is a beast on the boards but I feel we do have a team that will surprise all of us at the end.

Instead of all the negative remarks let's get behind these players, coaches and support them with positive remarks. Every player will have a role to play and maybe this is what they needed. Because the focus just won't be one player but as a TEAM.

[Dr Z]

It's amazing what I'm reading on these post. Just because you lose one player does't define the team as a whole.

When you lose the potential Mac POY, yes, it hurts the team and it's fans. This should not amaze you yesterday, or today, or even if you copy the same post tomorrow. Will the team rally around this controversy or crumble? Experienced fans (and even unexperienced fans) are going to discuss it even before it has been decided. The effect should come in to focus at the end of January like most seasons. Since there is a history of KD losing top players in his lineup, he does have some experience dealing with the situation. So the Zips have that going for them. At the very least we have a chance to see if, and how the offensive and defensive game plans changes without Tree in the lineup. With this news, that part is interesting to me. Too bad that is not being discussed more. Good luck.

[taxpayer]

It is very disheartening to read about this incident, the speculation about it and then the possible results which will come from it. Obviously, nothing good can result from such an event other than all of us realizing that none of us are perfect. Hopefully, we are thankful that most of us did not live in the fishbowl that these young student athletes do and that the overwhelming majority of them are great young men and women. With that said, I am in no way excusing what has happened in the past nor am I excusing whatever happened this past weekend. I have confidence that a complete investigation is being performed and that a just conclusion will be reached. We should stop speculating about this matter and let the situation play out.

I was watching a college basketball half time blabberfest this weekend and I believe it was Fran Fraschilla that stated coaching D1 basketball isn't so much X's and O's rather it's about "crisis management"; no truer words have been spoken.

Locker room leadership amongst the players will be even more important than it normally is. Some of our current players experienced the whole AA failure and hopefully replicate that years seniors mental and emotional toughness to win the MAC championship despite that debacle. Yes, this is another blemish on this program but it is also an opportunity for the team members and coaches, who had nothing to do with these incidents, to demonstrate their character and abilities while this situation reaches it's conclusion.

Rise above the disappointment, Go Zips!

[zippyman23]

Tree gets suspended every November. Nothing to see here. He will be back.

[UAZip0510]

Tree gets suspended every November. Nothing to see here. He will be back.

No, he will not.

[Big Zip]

Is this a .500 team without Tree?

[Dr Z]

Is this a .500 team without Tree?

Hard to tell, but I wouldn't underestimate the box of cupcakes that is today's MAC.

[Sportsjunkie330]

Is this a .500 team without Tree?

I hope they can get to 16 wins. With the MAC games being as close as they usually are (usually within 10 points) those 4 point wins could easily turn to 4 point losses.

I am gonna say they will get to 16 wins and finish above .500 -- but they have to win at least one this weekend in Charleston, beat Penn State and win all of the home games against the bad teams that are coming in (Bluffton, Bryant, Coppin St, Pine Bluff) in order to do that.

[Big Zip]

16 wins brings an end to the 20 game winning streak. A lot of questions going to need to be answered by the youngsters and the veterans. You've lost your best asset who is going to step up? How does this change your game plan? Does Forsythe get added minutes and is he counted on more in the middle? Can Gladden raise him game to reducing the scoring and rebounding loss? What role does Big Dog play in the new look Zips? I think Kretzer and McAdams could be your keys here. If they can drill their long shots it should open the inside for the others. If we don't shoot well from the outside this can become a disaster without a guy who can simply dominate when the teams pack in it.

[skip-zip]

Is this a .500 team without Tree?

Here's the way I see it.

There's enough cupcakes on the OOC to win half of those games.

And we'd still be better than at least half of the teams in the MAC.

So, we should still be above .500

[ZachTheZip]

It doesn't speak well to the future of the team if they can't get to 20 wins with this schedule.

[GP1]

How does this change your game plan?

This is a very important question.

A coach puts some thought into what he would do if his best player went down due to fouls and can make adjustments around that. A coaches best option and game plan assumes his best player and captain is in the game. Remove that first option and some other option of lesser quality becomes the best option with an even lesser option then becoming the adjustment. The season just started and they have been going through training camp planning around Tree being with the team. So much of what they have been doing leading up to this is a waste of time and to retool once the season starts is very difficult. It puts KD in a really bad spot. It will be interesting to see if in the next few days the team can adjust on the fly to these circumstances. Young teams normally don't find adjustment easy.

[skip-zip]

Ask yourselves....has there ever really been much change in the way we've played over the KD years? After this year, when Tree was gone, would anything have changed?

We'll be working the ball into the post, we'll be firing 3 pointers. The rotations and personnel will just be a little different. We'll simply need to find a way to pick up the slack for 10+ points and 10 rebounds from someone else to be remotely as successful as we were with Tree.

Keep something else in mind. Tree is a workhorse. I hope some guys on this team learned something from him, and can dig deep and find the same motor that he has on the court.

[akronzips71]

I am hoping that Robo can instantly become a 15 PPG player.

I know he is the real deal, so who knows.

[zippy5]

I am hoping that Robo can instantly become a 15 PPG player.

I know he is the real deal, so who knows.

For better or for worse, I don't think Tyler Hansbrough would have averaged 15 for KD

[akronzips71]

Any chance Tree is on the late plane to Charleston?

[johnnyzip84]

I am gonna say they will get to 16 wins and finish above .500 -- but they have to win at least one this weekend in Charleston, beat Penn State and win all of the home games against the bad teams that are coming in (Bluffton, Bryant, Coppin St, Pine Bluff) in order to do that.

I wouldn't lump Bryant into that lousy bunch. They gave UConn fits in their opener.

[GJGood]

I think this team has the talent to very good this year with or without Tree. The problem is having to quickly change some game planning and strategy in the short-term and the ability to overcome the bounty of youthful mistakes that are sure to come up this season with so much inexperience on the floor at any given time. it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

One thing is for certain, though, this team should be playing its best ball at the end of the season, Tree or no Tree.

[Captain Kangaroo]

One thing is for certain, though, this team should be playing its best ball at the end of the season, Tree or no Tree.

The Zips "best ball" with Tree would be much better than its best ball without Tree.

We don't have anyone to replace his projected 17ppg / 8 rpg. And his physical presence in the post.

I'll support this Zips team as much as I ever have, but there's no sugar-coating what Tree's loss would me to our chances of winning the MAC.

[Sportsjunkie330]

I wouldn't lump Bryant into that lousy bunch. They gave UConn fits in their opener.

Ha! They are a lot closer to the "lousy" teams than the good ones.

[Staton14]

I hope they can get to 16 wins. With the MAC games being as close as they usually are (usually within 10 points) those 4 point wins could easily turn to 4 point losses.

I am gonna say they will get to 16 wins and finish above .500 -- but they have to win at least one this weekend in Charleston, beat Penn State and win all of the home games against the bad teams that are coming in (Bluffton, Bryant, Coppin St, Pine Bluff) in order to do that.

Bryant has won 19 and 18 games over the last two years, respectively. That isn't bad, by any means.

[Sportsjunkie330]

Bryant has won 19 and 18 games over the last two years, respectively. That isn't bad, by any means.

Yes, and 15 of those wins come from teams ranked 150+ in RPI. They did not beat a team ranked inside the top 100 in RPI and their SOS was 235th (out of 349) last year.