Coppin State @ Akron

[dirtyolcrowe]

This team loves the outside shot! WHY???? they have some size now. I lost count(well not really) on how many times there was dribble penetration and then a dish outside. I ave noticed this with Dambrot coached teams that they penetrate and dish for the 3. Why???

Unfortunately, this team is not going to go far in the tourney. I think they will be around 500 this year in the MAC. give or take a game on the plus side.

Hopefully this year is used for experience, rotations, etc....

Next Year is the year we should make a statement!

[Hilltopper]

"As you know, ah, you go to war with the army you have---not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.--"

D Rumsfeld

[dirtyolcrowe]

Live by the 3! be prepared for a 17 or 18 win season. Only positive would be lower seed and your chance to play more games in MAC tourney. Its a rhythm thing. Cant have a bye and expect to stay hot so......there you go!

[Balsy]

"As you know, ah, you go to war with the army you have---not the army you might want or wish to have at a later time.--"

D Rumsfeld

D Rumsfeld is just about the worst person to seek advice from on any situation.

[Dave in Green]

That little guard from Coppin is 5-10, 165-pound senior Taarig Cephas, the team's leading assist man, second leading scorer and third leading rebounder. He had great quickness and hustle against the Zips, getting 7 steals, 8 assists and 10 rebounds. Four seasons ago as a freshman he probably looked a lot like Antino. Noah got a pretty good schooling there that finally knocked some of the calm demeanor out of him, put a little fire in his eyes and caused him to aggressively attack the rim late in the game. As good as Noah is, he's still a true freshman with lots of D-I college lessons to be learned.

[ZZZips]

This team loves the outside shot! WHY???? they have some size now.

Without checking the height charts from prior season It seems to me that we have less size than recent (last 5 years) history. Subtracting Zeke and Tree and adding Robotham and Jackson Jr. makes for less size not more. Fortunately for the Zips there is no MAC team with size this year.

[LZIp]

We have Forsythe, Johnson, and Kwan. Plenty of size, regardless if Kwan chooses to use his or not. Pretty positive without looking it up that all 3 are taller than Tree.

[Dave in Green]

Pat, Big Dog, Kwan, Jake, Reggie, etc., all played both last season and this one, so that's a wash. You need to look at who played last season who's not currently on the team and who's playing this season who didn't play last season.

Gone from last season:

Nick (6-8)

Tree (6-7)

Q (6-6)

Melo (5-11)

New this season:

Aaron (6-8)

BJ (6-6)

Noah (6-2)

Antino (5-11)

Average player height across the roster is down less than a half inch this season, so the Zips are only slightly smaller overall. What's more important are individual player skill sets as well as depth and playing time at each position. Center is the same with Pat and Big Dog. But Tree gave the Zips a low post presence at power forward that no one on the current roster comes close to matching. You can't just take an oversize wing like Kwan and magically transform him into a Tree clone. Outside of the center position the Zips are loaded with players who are more proficient at 3-point shooting than battling in the paint (Tree) or driving the lane (Q and Nick). BJ and Aaron are the wild cards.

[LZIp]

Pat, Big Dog, Kwan, Jake, Reggie, etc., all played both last season and this one, so that's a wash. You need to look at who played last season who's not currently on the team and who's playing this season who didn't play last season.

Gone from last season:

Nick (6-8)

Tree (6-7)

Q (6-6)

Melo (5-11)

New this season:

Aaron (6-8)

BJ (6-6)

Noah (6-2)

Antino (5-11)

Average player height across the roster is down less than a half inch this season, so the Zips are only slightly smaller overall. What's more important are individual player skill sets as well as depth and playing time at each position. Center is the same with Pat and Big Dog. But Tree gave the Zips a low post presence at power forward that no one on the current roster comes close to matching. You can't just take an oversize wing like Kwan and magically transform him into a Tree clone. Outside of the center position the Zips are loaded with players who are more proficient at 3-point shooting than battling in the paint (Tree) or driving the lane (Q and Nick). BJ and Aaron are the wild cards.

I think we both can agree that nobody is expecting Kwan to be a clone of Tree, but to find some middle ground and use his size to rebound better and have an inside offensive game. Quite frankly it would be a disservice to him if the coaching staff has no intention on developing it.

[LZIp]

I'll concede that while I have made it clear I'm not really a fan of the shot selection, being 3-happy seems to be a formula that has worked for other mid-majors in the tourney. Especially ones where their best player is a PG (think OU). But we as fans have to realize the consequences of this. There are going to be games we lose that we shouldn't and there will be games where the opponent shoots a lot more FTs than us.

DIG's stat earlier about us scoring more points per shot shooting the 3, even with a lower percentage, was refreshing to see. I think it can get even better since some of our specialists (Kretzer and McAdams to an extent) haven't performed very well this year. We used to brag about having "Major conference size", but that never won us anything. I'm all for trying this as long as we don't get too one dimensional.

[1981 grad]

Are we proficient at shooting the 3 ball? I looked up the stats for this season and we rank 140th in 3 point shooting percentage. We do not have one player ranked in the top 100 in shooting the 3 ball. And remember we have played some really weak teams and shot a lot of open 3 pointers. However, we are ranked 27th in taking shots behind the 3 line. Coppin State is ranked 2nd in taking 3 point shots so shooting the 3 frequently is not necessarily a recipe for success.

I do not have a problem when we shoot a 3 after we run our offense and a player has a wide open 3 or we move the ball well on transition and we shoot a wide open 3. I like Deji's 3 point selection. He takes his time shooting and only shoots the 3 when he is wide open. However, our team loves the 3 ball no matter what the situation. Last night Antino dribbled down the floor, had room and shot a 3 a couple feet behind the 3 line without running any offense and misses badly. DK yanked him and talked to him. However, Kretzer shoots a 3 four feet behind the 3 line, misses badly and he stays in. McAdams first 3 touches were 3 points shots and misses. Antino is thinking why is it ok for them to shoot the 3 and not me.

I think the goal of any offense should be a layup or dunk. I believe players should develop their game and that means learning to attack the basket, learning a pick and roll or slip screen, or working for high percentage shots. I believe players who are 3 point specialist never develop their games and never reach their potential. Have Kretzer and McAdams improved their offensive game since their freshman year? I saw the same lack of development with Nitro several years ago. His senior season was his worst season.

I think this team has a lot of potential considering our youth. I think Kwan could be a 15-20 point scorer his senior season if he develops his game. He has length, athleticism, a good first step and a good shot. After Lebron lost the championship in Miami, he went to KD and asked him for advice. KD told him you are relying too much on the 3 ball. Develop your inside game and your post moves. Lebron followed his advice and the rest is history. I think that relying on the 3 ball sends the wrong message to our young players and that we should work on penetration and scoring easy baskets even if it may not be our strength at the present time.

[zipnetter55]

If you look back over the last 7 yrs., the hallmark of KD's teams has been 3 point shooting- we seem to live or die by the 3. Don't know whether it's a coaching philosophy or a byproduct of the talent we recruit which often seems one dimensional. Cases in point-Cheatham-prefers to play like a small forward-does not drive to the hoop, Kretzer-seems limited to shooting the 3 from the corner,Gladden-a slaher,not a shooter,McAdams-a real puzzler-I believe he is capable of much more than he is being assigned-he handled the ball a lot in high school and in the state tournament, but he too seems to be stuck in the corner as a designated 3 pt shooter-wonder what would happen if they gave him a chance to drive and to spot up for 2s?

When you begin to look at the above, it seems as if it's the type of players we can get-they don't get recruited by the big programs because their games are limited .so I guess we "dance with them that brung you" Once in a while we get a Robothan who has a chance to become an all-around player,but how often can we expect to get a player rated as one of the best in his state? I agree this team is very erratic,but capable of beating many MAC teams IF our 3s are falling.

I have never seen the Zips so unsettled on a lineup-seems to change from game to game- We need to settle on a 7-8 player rotation and let them learn how to play together. See you all at Tuesday's game

[Dave in Green]

Are we proficient at shooting the 3 ball? ...

If the object is to score more points, the Zips are currently more proficient at shooting the 3 ball than the 2 ball, as the simple math presented earlier indicates (for every 2-point attempt they're scoring .918 points vs. 1.059 points for every 3-point attempt).

Again, the balance of 2s vs. 3s is out of kilter for several reasons. First, Tree was the Zips' primary inside scorer before leaving the team. Second, Big Dog was expected to provide more inside scoring than he's been able to so far. Third, none of the other players on the roster has been able to take up the slack. The result is that the Zips have so far had to rely more on the 3 than originally planned when the season began.

Even shooting more 3s than originally intended, the Zips are pretty close in 3-point performance to a team many hold up as an example of what they'd like the Zips to be -- VCU. Of all field goal attempts the percentage of 3-pointers for VCU is 36.0% vs. 37.4% for UA, and VCU hits 36.5% of their 3s vs. 35.3% for UA. So in those categories UA is on par with a winning major program.

Like Coach Smart, I'm sure that Coach Dambrot has thoroughly analyzed the skills and abilities of all the players on the roster and is trying to use each of them in the way that produces the best overall team performance. If it means shooting more or fewer 3s, that's just one of many aspects of the game. Stats can give you an idea of what's happening in various areas of the game. But the most important thing is that the mix of all individual aspects of the game results in more wins than losses.

[clarkwgriswold]

I get the stats, but please oh please oh please don't let me see another 3 footer passed up for a pass for a three pointer!!!

[Captain Kangaroo]

I get the stats, but please oh please oh please don't let me see another 3 footer passed up for a pass for a three pointer!!!

Carmelo is no longer on the team.

[akronzips71]

Both Pat and Kwan can shoot two pointers. Which are higher percentage than three point attempts.

They both need to do so. Neither will be easy to block when taking that shot due to their length.

[BirdZip]

If the object is to score more points, the Zips are currently more proficient at shooting the 3 ball than the 2 ball, as the simple math presented earlier indicates (for every 2-point attempt they're scoring .918 points vs. 1.059 points for every 3-point attempt).

3's don't draw fouls. Properly executed plays for 2 do.

[Dave in Green]

3's don't draw fouls. Properly executed plays for 2 do.

True. The Zips are giving up some free throw opportunities in return for averaging more points per 3-point attempt than 2-point attempt. Then again, some would rather not see the Zips go to the free throw line that often. It's all about tradeoffs.

[Dave in Green]

I think we both can agree that nobody is expecting Kwan to be a clone of Tree, but to find some middle ground and use his size to rebound better and have an inside offensive game. Quite frankly it would be a disservice to him if the coaching staff has no intention on developing it.

Of course. Kwan is in the process of changing his game from mostly outside to more of an outside-inside balance. Last season 67% of his field goal attempts were 3-pointers vs. 44% this season. I expect that percentage to continue to go down as the season goes on. But he's one of the best 3-point shooters on the team, so you don't want to give that all away.

[1981 grad]

You are correct in indicating that 3s do not draw fouls. Reggie has played 233 minutes and has only taken 5 foul shots. Kretzer has played 288 minutes and has taken only 18 foul shots making 17. Deji has played 245 minutes and taken 45 foul shots. That is a good reason to have Deji on the floor at the end of the game.

We are ranked 256th in foul shots attempted.