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All-Time Zips Starting Five (D1 Era)


Zippy87

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Thinking back recently to some of our past teams/players and I'm curious to hear thoughts on this. Who is your all-time Zips starting five? To keep it simple, I'm only looking at Division 1 Era.

 

Here's mine:

 

F-Enrique Freeman

Already an all-time leading rebounder and 8th all-time in blocks, he will rise into the top 10 all-time leading scoring list next season as well. He has the highest PER of any Zip over the past 20 years.

 

F-Romeo Travis

Total package. Most win shares of any Zip over the past 20 years. Bonus points for being one of a couple players who really helped elevate Akron's program near the beginning of the KD Era.

 

C-Zeke Marshall

Didn't develop the offensive game of other great Zips bigs, but the rim protection he provided was something special. #1 all-time in blocks at Akron and #31 among all collegiate players since 1985. I'll never forget his block against Kent in OT in Cleveland.

 

G-Joe Jakubick

I never had the pleasure of watching him play, but the stats don't lie here - dude was a walking bucket. Two-time OVC POY. From 1980-2023, only 6 D1 players have averaged more points per game in a season than Joe did in 1983-84 (30.1 ppg).

 

G-Loren Cristian Jackson

Ball, Dru, XC, McNees, Dials, Abreu...we've had some really good point guards.  I'll go with one of the best scorers in school history (especially knowing the defense I have behind him).

Edited by Zippy87
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These are only players I've seen personally (I didn't really start paying attention to Zips b-ball till '95 - Coleman Crawford's last season).

 

PG - LCJIII

Honorable Mentions:  Dru Joyce II, Jimmal "Spider Man" Ball, Xavier Castenada, Alex Abreu, Noah Robatham, Antino Jackson, Darryl Roberts, Humpty Hitchens

 

2G/W - Quincy Diggs

Honorable Mentions: Derrick Tarver, Jamie Bosley, Tron Jenkins, Tyler Cheese, Nick Dials, Jimmond Ivey, Steve McNees, Scotty Gooden

 

SF/W - *Jimmy Conyers

Honorable Mentions: Ali Ali, Darryl Peterson, Brett McKnight, Dan Hipsher, Nate Linhart, Jawanza Moore, Daniel Utomi 

 

PF/P - Enrique Freeman

Honorable Mentions: Romeo Travis, Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell, Xerius Williams, George Phillips, Kwan Cheatham

 

C/P - Zeke Marshall

Honorable Mentions: Jeremiah "Big Daddy" Wood, Isaiah "Big Dog" Johnson

 

 

*Jimmy Conyers only had one good year... his senior season... but man was it special.

 

 

Edited by Blue & Gold
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26 minutes ago, Blue & Gold said:

These are only players I've seen personally (I didn't really start paying attention to Zips b-ball till '95 - Coleman Crawford's last season).

 

PG - LCJIII

Honorable Mentions:  Dru Joyce II, Jimmal "Spider Man" Ball, Xavier Castenada, Alex Abreu, Noah Robatham, Antino Jackson, Darryl Roberts, Humpty Hitchens

 

2G/W - Quincy Diggs

Honorable Mentions: Derrick Tarver, Jamie Bosley, Tron Jenkins, Tyler Cheese, Nick Dials, Jimmond Ivey, Steve McNees, Scotty Gooden

 

SF/W - *Jimmy Conyers

Honorable Mentions: Ali Ali, Darryl Peterson, Brett McKnight, Dan Hipsher, Nate Linhart, Jawanza Moore, Daniel Utomi 

 

PF/P - Enrique Freeman

Honorable Mentions: Romeo Travis, Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell, Xerius Williams, George Phillips, Kwan Cheatham

 

C/P - Zeke Marshall

Honorable Mentions: Jeremiah "Big Daddy" Wood, Isaiah "Big Dog" Johnson

 

 

*Jimmy Conyers only had one good year... his senior season... but man was it special.

 

 

Funny story. I just met Jamie Bosley last week. Had a long conversation. He was fun to speak with and still super pumped about Akron basketball.

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1 hour ago, blueandgold said:

Funny story. I just met Jamie Bosley last week. Had a long conversation. He was fun to speak with and still super pumped about Akron basketball.

Awesome! Where'd you run into him?

I've seen Jaimie sitting in 1st row seats behind the opponents bench a handful of times.

His son, Max, is a very talented player with Wadsworth.  I think Max is going to be a senior next year.  We are getting OLD! 😭😭

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1 hour ago, Blue & Gold said:

Awesome! Where'd you run into him?

I've seen Jaimie sitting in 1st row seats behind the opponents bench a handful of times.

His son, Max, is a very talented player with Wadsworth.  I think Max is going to be a senior next year.  We are getting OLD! 😭😭

We were both exhibitors at a trade show in Columbus. Yes, I can't believe he was on the team in the mid 90's. Doesn't seem that long ago. 

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13 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

Thinking back recently to some of our past teams/players and I'm curious to hear thoughts on this. Who is your all-time Zips starting five? To keep it simple, I'm only looking at Division 1 Era.

 

Here's mine:

 

F-Enrique Freeman

Already the all-time leading rebounder and 5th all-time in blocks, he will rise into the top 10 all-time leading scoring list next season as well. He has the highest PER of any Zip over the past 20 years.

 

F-Romeo Travis

Total package. Most win shares of any Zip over the past 20 years. Bonus points for being one of a couple players who really helped elevate Akron's program near the beginning of the KD Era.

 

C-Zeke Marshall

Didn't develop the offensive game of other great Zips bigs, but the rim protection he provided was something special. #1 all-time in blocks at Akron and #31 among all collegiate players since 1985. I'll never forget his block against Kent in OT in Cleveland.

 

G-Joe Jakubick

I never had the pleasure of watching him play, but the stats don't lie here - dude was a walking bucket. Two-time OVC POY. From 1980-2023, only 6 D1 players have averaged more points per game in a season than Joe did in 1983-84 (30.1 ppg).

 

G-Loren Cristian Jackson

Ball, Dru, XC, McNees, Dials, Abreu...we've had some really good point guards.  I'll go with one of the best scorers in school history (especially knowing the defense I have behind him).

Freeman is already the all-time rebounding record holder??  I've been trying to find the numbers. I have doubts that he has broken the record (nearly 1300) in just 3 years. Can someone post an updated list, please?

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1 hour ago, Z.I.P. said:

Freeman is already the all-time rebounding record holder??  I've been trying to find the numbers. I have doubts that he has broken the record (nearly 1300) in just 3 years. Can someone post an updated list, please?

 

It only goes back to 1989 though I think

 

https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/akron/men/leaders-and-records-career.html

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45 minutes ago, Zippy87 said:

I don't think this website is accurate. Go look at free throw percentage leaders. It lists Big Dog as 9th all-time with a .587 percentage. This year's team alone probably had 9 guys with a higher free throw percentage than that.

 

 

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1 hour ago, kreed5120 said:

I don't think this website is accurate. Go look at free throw percentage leaders. It lists Big Dog as 9th all-time with a .587 percentage. This year's team alone probably had 9 guys with a higher free throw percentage than that.

 

 

 

Yeah that doesn't look right. Can't find an online media guide either. 

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Wikipedia has this:

 

1. Fred Golding - 1,360

2. Don Williams - 1,218

3. Ray Pryear - 1,213

4. Bill Turner - 1,171

5. Len Paul - 1,021

6. Frank Thompson - 996

7. Enrique Freeman - 952

8. Alex Adams - 872

9. Harvey Glover - 801

10. Romeo Travis - 783

 

So Freeman is not the all-time leader overall but all-time leader in the D1 Era.

 

He had 370 rebounds this past season, so he has a shot at the all-time mark with a big senior year.

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20 hours ago, Zippy87 said:

Thinking back recently to some of our past teams/players and I'm curious to hear thoughts on this. Who is your all-time Zips starting five? To keep it simple, I'm only looking at Division 1 Era.

 

Here's mine:

 

F-Enrique Freeman

Already an all-time leading rebounder and 8th all-time in blocks, he will rise into the top 10 all-time leading scoring list next season as well. He has the highest PER of any Zip over the past 20 years.

 

F-Romeo Travis

Total package. Most win shares of any Zip over the past 20 years. Bonus points for being one of a couple players who really helped elevate Akron's program near the beginning of the KD Era.

 

C-Zeke Marshall

Didn't develop the offensive game of other great Zips bigs, but the rim protection he provided was something special. #1 all-time in blocks at Akron and #31 among all collegiate players since 1985. I'll never forget his block against Kent in OT in Cleveland.

 

G-Joe Jakubick

I never had the pleasure of watching him play, but the stats don't lie here - dude was a walking bucket. Two-time OVC POY. From 1980-2023, only 6 D1 players have averaged more points per game in a season than Joe did in 1983-84 (30.1 ppg).

 

G-Loren Cristian Jackson

Ball, Dru, XC, McNees, Dials, Abreu...we've had some really good point guards.  I'll go with one of the best scorers in school history (especially knowing the defense I have behind him).

Funny I swear I was going to start a very similar topic but using only players from the Dambrot/Groce era. Jakubick was fantastic I did get to see him play but this is dead on the list I would have selected too. Well done. 

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2 hours ago, MDZip said:

Funny I swear I was going to start a very similar topic but using only players from the Dambrot/Groce era. Jakubick was fantastic I did get to see him play but this is dead on the list I would have selected too. Well done. 

It's fun to look back. We've had some fantastic players in Blue and Gold over the years.

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55 minutes ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I can't believe Mark Kostelac has been left out of the discussion.  He got some serious love on ZipsNation back in the day.

Certain types of guys seem to get more love than others.  Like that Wisconsin transfer who never saw more than a minute of playing time.

 

All Star Five:  Cheese, Banks, Riak, Williams, and Jackson.

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1 hour ago, clarkwgriswold said:

I can't believe Mark Kostelac has been left out of the discussion.  He got some serious love on ZipsNation back in the day.

I still remember the running joke this board had about height because someone argued Mark should play more because he was tall.

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Quick reaction to the question:

 

Point Guard:  Cricket 

Shooting Guard:  Brown

SF:  Linhart

PF:  Wood (Zips D-1 MVP)

Center: Johnson

 

6th Man:  Senior year Conyers (guard 4 spots)

Halftime Show:  Red Panda after the McNees explosion vs. Miami

 

Next Up:

 

Point:  McNees, LCJ

Shooter:  Diggs, Ivey

SF:  Hipsher (before the back injury), Harney

PF:  Travis, Cvetinovic, Treadwell

Center:  Freeman, Marshall

 

Haven't seen a ton of the team in person the past few years, so I'm not able to judge much past LCJ and Freeman, who both are exceptional and appear to really love the game.

 

I struggled with the SG spot, maybe because of clarity of roles.  I'm going with both Cricket and Brown as my starting back court, even though I think they were both PG's.  McNees was everywhere and had a hand in lots of big moments.  Big Dog vs. Marshall vs. Freeman was my toughest decision.  I'm just not sure Marshall really wanted it in the end.  Freeman probably ends up on top in the end.

 

Championships matter.

 

Other guys who came to mind that occurred to me, but I guess not at this level:  The McKnight brothers were great.  Middleton changed the program. Utomi and Jackson left. Dials was gritty.  I'm sure there are others.  It speaks to the high quality of the program over the last 20 years that this isn't easier.

 

Prior to his back injury, Andy Hipsher was the only player we had that I thought had a real shot at an NBA career.  He was dynamic, competitive and clutch.

 

Go Zips!

 

 

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19 minutes ago, Zip Watcher said:

Quick reaction to the question:

 

Point Guard:  Cricket 

Shooting Guard:  Brown

SF:  Linhart

PF:  Wood (Zips D-1 MVP)

Center: Johnson

 

6th Man:  Senior year Conyers (guard 4 spots)

Halftime Show:  Red Panda after the McNees explosion vs. Miami

 

Next Up:

 

Point:  McNees, LCJ

Shooter:  Diggs, Ivey

SF:  Hipsher (before the back injury), Harney

PF:  Travis, Cvetinovic, Treadwell

Center:  Freeman, Marshall

 

Haven't seen a ton of the team in person the past few years, so I'm not able to judge much past LCJ and Freeman, who both are exceptional and appear to really love the game.

 

I struggled with the SG spot, maybe because of clarity of roles.  I'm going with both Cricket and Brown as my starting back court, even though I think they were both PG's.  McNees was everywhere and had a hand in lots of big moments.  Big Dog vs. Marshall vs. Freeman was my toughest decision.  I'm just not sure Marshall really wanted it in the end.  Freeman probably ends up on top in the end.

 

Championships matter.

 

Other guys who came to mind that occurred to me, but I guess not at this level:  The McKnight brothers were great.  Middleton changed the program. Utomi and Jackson left. Dials was gritty.  I'm sure there are others.  It speaks to the high quality of the program over the last 20 years that this isn't easier.

 

Prior to his back injury, Andy Hipsher was the only player we had that I thought had a real shot at an NBA career.  He was dynamic, competitive and clutch.

 

Go Zips!

 

 

LCJ over Cricket everyday. Guy was a walking bucket who knew how to keep his teammates involved.

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On 3/20/2023 at 2:18 PM, Zippy87 said:

Wikipedia has this:

 

1. Fred Golding - 1,360

2. Don Williams - 1,218

3. Ray Pryear - 1,213

4. Bill Turner - 1,171

5. Len Paul - 1,021

6. Frank Thompson - 996

7. Enrique Freeman - 952

8. Alex Adams - 872

9. Harvey Glover - 801

10. Romeo Travis - 783

 

So Freeman is not the all-time leader overall but all-time leader in the D1 Era.

 

He had 370 rebounds this past season, so he has a shot at the all-time mark with a big senior year.

Yes. I have to think the list is through 2022-23, because last time I looked (earlier this season) Enrique was not listed.  👍

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