UAZippers Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 Hustle Belt has started their top 25 MAC player list and a familiar name checks in at #25: Reggie McAdams Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I think we'll definitely see Pat in this. Maybe Noah as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpsjugglerdude Posted October 19, 2015 Report Share Posted October 19, 2015 I think we'll definitely see Pat in this. Maybe Noah as well.If Noah isn't in this list, there must have been a huge increase in talent in the off season. It's a long shot, but I wouldn't be completely shocked to see Jackson near the bottom of the list either after his MAC tourney performance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 They'll likely try to keep an even mix of positions throughout the rankings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Zips are so balanced, it's hard to tell who will be on the list. I'll go with Pat and Noah since Reggie has already made it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 LZip is right. the Dambrot era Zips teams have rarely contained any clear-cut "stars", and that hurts when we want players to be included in lists like these. Forsythe could possibly be the only other player we see on the rest of this list. Unfortunately (as you read in Reggie's article), it's hard to make this list as a single digit scorer. And we have a lot of good contributors who are still only single digit scorers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zippy5 Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 Jake will be on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted October 20, 2015 Report Share Posted October 20, 2015 I never forget about Jake. In fact, I think his contributions are often vastly underappreciated. I would want him on this list, but he just doesn't have numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadszip Posted October 22, 2015 Report Share Posted October 22, 2015 Jake will be on itI think Jake has a case, but for these rankings, Reggie probably took his spot. Pat will be on for sure, and I think Noah will be as well (but not a given due to the ACL injury, and Antino eating into his numbers).Really, it doesn't matter. As mentioned, anyone who follows this program knows individual stats aren't going to be in this team's favor. Last year was the first time in the KD era where you thought they may have had that one go-to guy (Tree) and it lasted all of two games. Still, this team won 21 games and made the MAC semis for the 9th straight year, even in an in-flux season.This year should be fun. You have the steady seniors in Pat, Reggie and Jake. Two sophomores in Noah and Antino that looked like they belong as freshmen. Kwan and Big Dog took steps forward and now are juniors, so another jump could be seen there. And Josh Williams and Jimond Ivey are two freshmen who I think will also look like they belong, this year. Ivey, especially with a year in the program, has the athletic ability to to do some nice things this season. Williams, IMO, is the best recruit outside of Zeke or maybe Tree, that KD has landed. Maybe not a physical freak, but a guy who is simply a baller. If he didn't commit so early (after his All-Ohio freshmen season at Barberton), he would've received a bunch of high-major attention (and going to SVSM kept his numbers down).I didn't even mention Aaron Jackson (who has some Deji, Quincy or Jimmy Conyers type qualities). Let's hope he's more Quincy than Deji or Conyers this year, but worst case, he looks like a guy who can put it all together as an upper classman when given a true chance. Nor did I mention the Nigerian freshmen. Maybe one, or more of them step up. That would be icing on the cake. I don't see a big opportunity, but that means things are going well, which, in Akron fashion, hasn't always been the case. But even with adversity, KD wins. So if something does happen, they will probably still get to that 20 win mark, and back to at least the MAC semis (nobody owns Cleveland like KD). But if things go as planned for a change, I love this team's chances of not only getting back to the tourney, but being able to make some noise. I'll stop at first (or technically second) round win, but wouldn't shock me to see this group being the one that finally breaks through.And if that does happen, between having the KD stability factor, along with the LeBron support, and the upcoming talent in the region, a big year for Akron could mean a major move up the CBB landscape. That's adding some pressure, but if this team, which has talent, can deliver. Maybe the Gonzaga of the East tag can be realistic. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 (edited) Tough news for WMU, Connar Tava broke his foot. Betting he will be (or would have been) in the Top 25 list. Edited October 23, 2015 by MDZip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gozips19 Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 Hibbits from CMU is out for the year with an ACL. Same link. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted October 23, 2015 Report Share Posted October 23, 2015 At times, Keith has raved about Connor Tava, so I will take that as being a HUGE loss for them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wadszip Posted October 24, 2015 Report Share Posted October 24, 2015 At times, Keith has raved about Connor Tava, so I will take that as being a HUGE loss for them.Yeah, that's a huge loss for them. Guy is a Swiss Army knife. He does a little of everything. Hopefully, he is back by February. A fun player to watch, a 6-6, 250 pound point-forward.BTW, he would've easily been top 5 in these rankings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDZip Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 (edited) And Noah comes in at #14. Awesome. But exactly who calls him the Robot Ham? Edited October 29, 2015 by MDZip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 And Noah comes in at #14. Awesome. But exactly who calls him the Robot Ham? The Rowdies have a sign Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Wow. Number 14? I think several of us had doubts about whether he'd make the list. Obviously, people outside of Akron are recognizing his potential to be a big producer in this league. This might end up being some kind of record. When Pat shows up, we'll have 3 guys in someone's list of the top 25 players in the league. I'm hard pressed to think that anyone has ever given star-quality accolades to 3 of our players at one time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpsjugglerdude Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 I think Jake has a case, but for these rankings, Reggie probably took his spot. Pat will be on for sure, and I think Noah will be as well (but not a given due to the ACL injury, and Antino eating into his numbers).Jake was #20 last year, so it's interesting to see if he dropped out of the rankings, or how high has risen. http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2014/10/22/6994637/2014-mac-basketball-top-25-20-g-f-jake-kretzer-akron-zips/in/6744236Wow. Number 14? I think several of us had doubts about whether he'd make the list. Obviously, people outside of Akron are recognizing his potential to be a big producer in this league. This might end up being some kind of record. When Pat shows up, we'll have 3 guys in someone's list of the top 25 players in the league. I'm hard pressed to think that anyone has ever given star-quality accolades to 3 of our players at one time. I thought everyone thought highly of Robotham last year. Most on this board said the season was over when he went down. Most fans of other teams I talked to couldn't believe he was a freshman and they had 3 more years of him to put up with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted October 29, 2015 Report Share Posted October 29, 2015 Being ranked #14 after approx. 2/3rds (IIRC) of a true freshman season is pretty impressive. Looking forward to watching him this season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted October 30, 2015 Report Share Posted October 30, 2015 Absolutely. Like I said, the fact that he's getting noticed enough outside of Akron to put him at 14 is pretty amazing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Big Pat checks in at #7.http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2015/11/5/9666124/pat-forsythe-akron-zips-mens-basketball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Just for reference, the zips checked in last year with Tree at #2 and Kretzer at #20. Which, with Tree's early dismissal basically amounts to only one player on the list. Also goes to show Pat's massive improvement going from unranked to best center in the conference. I'm curious to see the six players supposedly better than Pat (I can think of Fowler, Lee, Hall, maybe Washington) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LoyalZIP Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 Not bad for having such mediocre freshman and sophomore seasons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UAZippers Posted November 5, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 (edited) I'm pretty happy with a #7 ranking. I don't think we could have expected much higher.I personally am pretty surprised that he is ranked above Nathan Boothe, who was #8 yesterday. They are pretty similar, but Boothe has always seemed to have more hype from around the conference to me. Edited November 5, 2015 by UAZippers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ace Posted November 5, 2015 Report Share Posted November 5, 2015 I'm pretty happy with a #7 ranking. I don't think we could have expected much higher.I personally am pretty surprised that he is ranked above Nathan Boothe, who was #8 yesterday. They are pretty similar, but Boothe has always seemed to have more hype from around the conference to me.Forsythe and Boothe are so similar: both averaged exactly 10 PPG last year and have really similar rebounding numbers as well. I give the edge to Pat because I think he's a slightly better defender and also slightly more efficient (23 to 19 PER) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LZIp Posted November 13, 2015 Report Share Posted November 13, 2015 Complete listing if anyone is interested..http://www.hustlebelt.com/mac-basketball/2015/10/18/9562657/2015-2016-top-25-mac-basketball-players-countdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.