NIU @ Akron Game Thread

[RACER]

woods is hurt,and ced is either hurt or who knows.he gives us nothing now.dials is the only senior right now giving us anything.terrible effort with no defense.the team should be embarrassed to lose to the last place team at home.i dont understand why kd took either mck night out.we are not a very good team right now.hopefully we can still get a bye,but if we keep losing games like this we will playing nowhere.

[ziptrumpet87]

I guess there's still the CBI games...

[Quickzips]

This is gonna be a total kneejerk reaction. I know. You don't have to tell me.It's time to start rebuilding for next year. The senior leadership that was to carry this team this year is no longer capable of it. Wood is out, maybe for the rest of the year, Cedrick is a shell of his former self, Quade continues to be the rollercoaster that we're all used to by now, Dials is the only one playing remotely close to good basketball and even his game has fallen off some. It's time to start playing some of the youngins more. Why is Chris McKnight sitting on the bench the final 8 minutes tonight while Quade stays in there with his disappearing act? Chris played at least as good on the defensive end and, gasp, he can actually score! Brett McKnight is still lost on defense, but what is having him on the bench doing for us tonight? He made some very pretty moves on the offensive side and him and his brother were the only two on the floor for us tonight that could consistently score inside. Something we needed desperatley. And while I'm on the subject, can we officially call Jimmy Conyers a total bust? The kid is hardly getting any minutes and the only thing he looks good for at this point if giving up fouls. This out of one of the most hyped recruits in recent Zips history. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe this is just the bottom of the barrel for us and we will bounce back and make a run towards the tourney, but right now. This team needs to start getting ready for next year and it starts with playing guys like the McKnights, Roberts, McNees and Bardo more.

[Agent Zero]

Um..you guys do realize NIU played like this against OU last year and OU also lost, right? NIU has talent...they've just lacked the coaching for a long time to develop the players.

[RACER]

the only reason i agree is that our seniors are not giving us much.play the best guys,and right now both the mck nights are at least scoring for us.at least brett shows some udpside while the some of the guys out are not giving us anything.i just dont understand who was playing in the secind half.bardo,quade did nothing.the defense tonight looked lost,and that includes everyone.giving up 88 points to the last place team is emabarrassing.hopefully this team can go up to bg and win.if not are chances for a bye are not very good.

[skip-zip]

First of all, you can't beat anyone that shoots 65%, and 50% from 3-point range. They were making everything. Even some circus shots that were highly contested. That happens. But it takes a lot out of a team when no matter what you do, they still make shots. Yes, we're playing without 2-1/2 starters right now. But...our weaknesses are now exposed. It didn't start tonight. It was there in the WMU game, and we hid it for a game against Ball State.1) There is nobody that is now enough of a threat in the post to warrant attention. So, now our perimeter people are getting guarded more closely, and we end up shooting something like 25% from the 3-line. It's not a surprise that teams are going to defend us that way without our big man in there. 2) Our rebounding is suffering without Jeremiah. It's pretty obvious. 3) Without Jeremiah, C. Mc. and Bardo have to pick up about 10-15 points, and 10-15 rebounds. I've been saying it all along. Well, C. Mc. is doing his part, and Bardo is contributing just about nothing. Enough said.

[zipsbandman]

bardo, quade, and conyers are complete no shows. Bardo is probably the project out of the three but is he really going to get that much better? Cedric is a shadow of his old self. Then you got the Wood situation and you got Dials limping around. McKnees was a one hit wonder against Miami and then you got 6'7 Linhart who cannot finish a dunk. This team is a mess.

[skip-zip]

Agent Zero...maybe you aren't aware that our best player is OUT, our 2nd best player is gutting it out playing on a hip flexor injury, and our 3rd best player has a bad knee, that he is trying to play on, that will require surgery at the end of the season, and he is hardly able to play at all. Before you come on here saying that this reminds you of how NIU played against you guys at home last year, please consider that we are absolutely descimated by injuries right now.

[skip-zip]

zipsbandman....Quade actually played well tonight. But we need Conyers and Bardo, and it's becoming more apparent to me every game that we are just not going to get big contributions out of them fast enough to save this season. Heck, when Linhart went down at the end of last season, we made Jimmy a starter. I was expecting so much more out of him this year, and I'm really dissappointed.

[72 Roo]

Like many of you I don't like what I see of this team. Sure we have major problems with depth as Bardo, Quade, Conyers, Goddard and McNees are showing they are in way over their heads. As far as I'm concerned they should be cut loose and use their scholies on other projects that may produce. But I urge caution as we let our frustrations spill over to K.D. He is still great for this program. We will coach occassionally in a way that will cause us all to question his sanity, but in the long run he is the best answer for this program.Let's face it, tonight we got out-played, out-coached and out-everythinged. This year will set us back to the rest of the mediocre MAC pack. Too bad. They streak was great but our fans are fickle and they never really supported this team the way they deserved when they weren't stinking up the place.

[Zipgrad1990]

Like many of you I don't like what I see of this team. Sure we have major problems with depth as Bardo, Quade, Conyers, Goddard and McNees are showing they are in way over their heads. As far as I'm concerned they should be cut loose and use their scholies on other projects that may produce. But I urge caution as we let our frustrations spill over to K.D. He is still great for this program. We will coach occassionally in a way that will cause us all to question his sanity, but in the long run he is the best answer for this program.Let's face it, tonight we got out-played, out-coached and out-everythinged. This year will set us back to the rest of the mediocre MAC pack. Too bad. They streak was great but our fans are fickle and they never really supported this team the way they deserved when they weren't stinking up the place.

Wow cut loose Bardo and McNees? They are only freshmen (redshirt ones, but still freshmen). I don't think Goddard is on a scholorship and Quade is a senior so the only one that warrants getting cut loose is Conyers.I think without Wood we are just a middle of the pack team. Even with him we are probably only 4th or 5th best as I consider Can't, WMU, Ohio, and maybe Miami all better than Akron.

[skip-zip]

That's correct. Goddard is not on scholarship. And Jimmy just has not developed much since he has been here.Jeremiah's breakdown was inevitable. He was completely carrying the load in the paint, and was taking an absolute pounding. Same with Dials playing the point. I'm going to go back to something I've been saying for awhile now. Yes, I know I am frustrated right now.....But....I do believe it was a mistake redshirting Bardo and Swiech. Sure, maybe they are not "far enough along in their development". But, someone HAD to see that Jeremiah was going to be the only post player coming into this year with any kind of experience. Bardo would surely have been much better prepared for the role he has right now if he had played a little bit last year. And Swiech, if for nothing else than knocking a few people around, and grabbing a few key rebounds, could have really helped this team.We had the nucleus to be a great team this year, if we had only done a better job of bringing along the supporting cast.

[hoopla]

mcnees and dials are our best backcourt. let them work together most on the min. and dials will be able to teach/help mcnees for the future. i think we can plan for the future without giving up on this year totally. after all, the new season starts soon..... MAC tourny. everything is 0-0 at that point.

[Agent Zero]

Agent Zero...maybe you aren't aware that our best player is OUT, our 2nd best player is gutting it out playing on a hip flexor injury, and our 3rd best player has a bad knee, that he is trying to play on, that will require surgery at the end of the season, and he is hardly able to play at all. Before you come on here saying that this reminds you of how NIU played against you guys at home last year, please consider that we are absolutely descimated by injuries right now.

You guys? I didn't go to Ohio buddy. And yes, I'm aware that Wood is a big, big loss for the Zips. Although it does beg the question - is Dambrot going to recruit more bigs next year?

[Z-Pouch]

Like many of you I don't like what I see of this team. Sure we have major problems with depth as Bardo, Quade, Conyers, Goddard and McNees are showing they are in way over their heads. As far as I'm concerned they should be cut loose and use their scholies on other projects that may produce. But I urge caution as we let our frustrations spill over to K.D. He is still great for this program. We will coach occassionally in a way that will cause us all to question his sanity, but in the long run he is the best answer for this program.

No doubt KD is great for the program but tonight, he was Tim O'Shea. That was his worst coaching job since taking over by a long shot. I'm still scratching my head over the substitutions or lack of throughout the game. I guess I understand sticking with your seniors to some degree but at some point when guys are hurt (Middleton) and unproductive/lost (Milum), you have to go to others for extended periods and let them play. I thought Roberts, B McKnight and even C McKnight were well on their way to stepping up tonight untill they got nailed to/lost on the bench the last 10 minutes. In general, the players didnt have it tonight and we needed KD to find the right rotations and step up guy for a victory. Instead of finding it, he looked confused and pulling players in/out at random to the point that no one was able to get into the flow of the game. And can someone tell me why no one is allowed to drive to the basket on this team - McNees, Roberts, Linhart can all slash to the basket but we are always so concerned about setting up the perimeter offense. You have to have some allowance for penetration in the offense by someone other then Dials. To me, Kd is just not making very good adjustments to life without Wood.I dont want to hear about losing Wood...losing Middleton.....Dials playing on one leg......losing Joyce....losing Romeo. It's all unfortunate but get on with it and play some of the other talent for extended time loosening the leash alittle and letting others heal up for the MAC Tourney. Maybe a little more confidence and work in the younger guys would go a long way (the Roberts/B McKnight/McNees combo actually put us back in the game). We cannot limp into the tourney with nagging injuries and have any realistic shot. As for Quade playing well tonight - I must have watched a different game and missed all his blocked shots on the interior. He was a non factor.

[hoopla]

quade played good in sperts. when we made our runs he was a factor. when we were playing even or got behind, he was awful. he needs to be more consistant for us to be any good.

[skip-zip]

I'll take 8 points and 5 rebounds from Quade any game I can get it. That's a good night.

[bUAkronG]

I'll take 8 points and 5 rebounds from Quade any game I can get it. That's a good night.

I won't. He missed 3 or 4 five foot shots. How do you do that when all you've gotta do is jump 6 inches off the ground? I don't know what tonight was about. We couldn't get an offensive rebound to save our lives, and our guys looked horribly confused on the defensive end.I really like what I'm seeing with Roberts and B. McKnight. IMO, B would have played 90% of the game. If he develops his defense he will be a huge factor in the future. C. McKnight was very confident, taking multiple shots but man he missed a bunch of easy shots!Oh, and NIU's two guards made nearly half of their points tonight. How do we let that happen?

[zipfan 81]

Everyone who wants to see more Goddard needs to watch that last play. Doesn't come back to the ball, gives up the steal, can't get back the other way quick enough to stop the bucket with the foul.

I don't think Goddard turned the ball over, who could catch that pass from point guard? Was anyone getting back the other way tonite to stop anyone? I do think he had his chance though and because his three's didn't hit, he will be out of rotation, if there is a rotation?

[zipfan 81]

Like many of you I don't like what I see of this team. Sure we have major problems with depth as Bardo, Quade, Conyers, Goddard and McNees are showing they are in way over their heads. As far as I'm concerned they should be cut loose and use their scholies on other projects that may produce. But I urge caution as we let our frustrations spill over to K.D. He is still great for this program. We will coach occassionally in a way that will cause us all to question his sanity, but in the long run he is the best answer for this program.Let's face it, tonight we got out-played, out-coached and out-everythinged. This year will set us back to the rest of the mediocre MAC pack. Too bad. They streak was great but our fans are fickle and they never really supported this team the way they deserved when they weren't stinking up the place.

Wow, do you think before you post?

[zipfan 81]

Like many of you I don't like what I see of this team. Sure we have major problems with depth as Bardo, Quade, Conyers, Goddard and McNees are showing they are in way over their heads. As far as I'm concerned they should be cut loose and use their scholies on other projects that may produce. But I urge caution as we let our frustrations spill over to K.D. He is still great for this program. We will coach occassionally in a way that will cause us all to question his sanity, but in the long run he is the best answer for this program.

No doubt KD is great for the program but tonight, he was Tim O'Shea. That was his worst coaching job since taking over by a long shot. I'm still scratching my head over the substitutions or lack of throughout the game. I guess I understand sticking with your seniors to some degree but at some point when guys are hurt (Middleton) and unproductive/lost (Milum), you have to go to others for extended periods and let them play. I thought Roberts, B McKnight and even C McKnight were well on their way to stepping up tonight untill they got nailed to/lost on the bench the last 10 minutes. In general, the players didnt have it tonight and we needed KD to find the right rotations and step up guy for a victory. Instead of finding it, he looked confused and pulling players in/out at random to the point that no one was able to get into the flow of the game. And can someone tell me why no one is allowed to drive to the basket on this team - McNees, Roberts, Linhart can all slash to the basket but we are always so concerned about setting up the perimeter offense. You have to have some allowance for penetration in the offense by someone other then Dials. To me, Kd is just not making very good adjustments to life without Wood.I dont want to hear about losing Wood...losing Middleton.....Dials playing on one leg......losing Joyce....losing Romeo. It's all unfortunate but get on with it and play some of the other talent for extended time loosening the leash alittle and letting others heal up for the MAC Tourney. Maybe a little more confidence and work in the younger guys would go a long way (the Roberts/B McKnight/McNees combo actually put us back in the game). We cannot limp into the tourney with nagging injuries and have any realistic shot. As for Quade playing well tonight - I must have watched a different game and missed all his blocked shots on the interior. He was a non factor.

Just because someone has great character, you don't keep playing him... this is where Coach D confuses me, it's everything he is against. And why you take out B. McKnight who was on a roll, I will never know.

[Captain Kangaroo]

Our 22 game home win streak got snapped by a team that was 0-10 on the road. Said team shot 65% against the Zips. To quote Luis Proenza: "Wow..."

[RACER]

one of the reason they shot 65% was because our defense was terrible.we let them get inside for easy shots numerous times,and did not defend the perimter.they shot great but we did not help ourselves by playing bad defense.scoring 88 on our home court was a pathetic performance by the zips defense.

[Zip Watcher]

No doubt KD is great for the program but tonight, he was Tim O'Shea. That was his worst coaching job since taking over by a long shot. I'm still scratching my head over the substitutions or lack of throughout the game. I guess I understand sticking with your seniors to some degree but at some point when guys are hurt (Middleton) and unproductive/lost (Milum), you have to go to others for extended periods and let them play. I thought Roberts, B McKnight and even C McKnight were well on their way to stepping up tonight untill they got nailed to/lost on the bench the last 10 minutes. In general, the players didnt have it tonight and we needed KD to find the right rotations and step up guy for a victory. Instead of finding it, he looked confused and pulling players in/out at random to the point that no one was able to get into the flow of the game. And can someone tell me why no one is allowed to drive to the basket on this team - McNees, Roberts, Linhart can all slash to the basket but we are always so concerned about setting up the perimeter offense. You have to have some allowance for penetration in the offense by someone other then Dials. To me, Kd is just not making very good adjustments to life without Wood.I dont want to hear about losing Wood...losing Middleton.....Dials playing on one leg......losing Joyce....losing Romeo. It's all unfortunate but get on with it and play some of the other talent for extended time loosening the leash alittle and letting others heal up for the MAC Tourney. Maybe a little more confidence and work in the younger guys would go a long way (the Roberts/B McKnight/McNees combo actually put us back in the game). We cannot limp into the tourney with nagging injuries and have any realistic shot. As for Quade playing well tonight - I must have watched a different game and missed all his blocked shots on the interior. He was a non factor.

What he said. I think that post hits things spot on.Other questions I have:1. If Jimmy Conyers is your best "on-ball" defender, and he's certainly one of the top 2 or 3 (Linhart .. ?? .. Bardo .. Roberts??), why does he not play more when you're giving up 65% ... SIXTY-FIVE PERCENT! If you tell me that it's because he's not a contributor on offense .. then I'd like to ask:2. If you're going to mail it in defensively by not playing your best defenders (see #1 above), and channel the coaching doctrine of Doug Moe, then why are 2 of your better scorers (McKnights, C & stapled to the bench for the last 10 minutes after giving you some inside punch? In the four possessions he touched the ball NIU had no idea what to do with Brett last night. None whatsoever. The Zips could have gone Tarver with him last night and probably pulled the game out.Seems like you can't have it both ways. You either win with defense .. and play those that are going to defend. Or you have to try and outscore people by putting points on the board while knowing you're not at your best on the defensive side.Last night, it appeared to me that the coaches made choices that limited their offensive productivity at the same time they didn't shore up or help the defense. Namely, stopping the penetration. We picked the wrong side of the equation on both sides of the floor.Definitely an off night by the coaching staff (among other things). Probably their worst effort ever @ UA. I'm certain it's a rarity and an isolated incident.Trouble in Rubber City at the moment, Zips fans.Go Zips.

[Zip Watcher]

one of the reason they shot 65% was because our defense was terrible.we let them get inside for easy shots numerous times,and did not defend the perimter.they shot great but we did not help ourselves by playing bad defense.scoring 88 on our home court was a pathetic performance by the zips defense.

I was really looking forward to another Joe Dunn / Dan Hipsher style press conference last night.Joe Dunn: Gosh Dan, it seems like everyone has their career shooting night against the Zips.Dan: You, know it seems that way Joe .. we just keep running into the hot shooters, don't we.Alas .. no HC on the radio .. would have liked to hear KD's thoughts.They might just have shot 65% because they were either 3 feet from the rim, with no contest .. or standing wide open, with nary a defender near them. The Zips are not very good defensively right now .. check that .. they're horrible defensively right now. With far less talent, 2 or 3 years ago, KD was able to field a good defensive effort night in and night out .. what's changed this season?Is it just injuries in the back court? Depth? ???