A Msg from Zeke Marshall's MOM...

[FromdaBurgh]

Good Morning Zip Family:As I'm getting ready for church I wanted you all to check out the link below. This is to a "pitt" blog and I want Zeke's new fam to read the nasty comments being left about Zeke's decision. As his mom...this stuff really hurts, but as an adult I do understand that everyone is entitled to their "own opinion" no matter how dumb it is or how "idiotic" and "immature" they sound. Just an FYI...have a great day everyone. http://www.pittblather.com/

[a-zip]

Welcome Marshall family! Needless to say, we are all extremely excited about your choice and boy are you coming at an exciting time. New football stadium on campus, soccer stadium, hopefully new basketball arena.The soccer team will likely have another top 5 recruiting class and legitimately contend for a national title BUT as I look at our baskeball roster WOW!Brett McNight 6-6 FreshmanSteve Sweich 6-9 FreshmanMike Bardo 6-10 FreshmanChris McNight 6-7 FreshmanNikola Cventinovic 6-7 incoming FreshmanANDZeke Marshall 7-0+ 2008!!!!!!You guys are going to be beating up on some folks for a while!

[RACER]

they just cant deal with the fact that a school like akron beat them out for a recruit.just like fsu fans could not deal with losing to a team like akron.get use to it because kd is going to be here for awhile.

[ziplock]

Good Morning Zip Family:As I'm getting ready for church I wanted you all to check out the link below. This is to a "pitt" blog and I want Zeke's new fam to read the nasty comments being left about Zeke's decision. As his mom...this stuff really hurts, but as an adult I do understand that everyone is entitled to their "own opinion" no matter how dumb it is or how "idiotic" and "immature" they sound. Just an FYI...have a great day everyone. http://www.pittblather.com/

The comments by many of the Pitt folks are an absolute embarrassment. I looked at several Pitt message boards and I was flabbergasted. There were a few level-headed people wishing Zeke the best, but they were certainly in the minority of posters.I had read some of the more pathetic statements and felt compelled to respond but why bother? I would have only been "feeding the alligators". Student athletes choose schools for any variety of reasons. If Zeke had chosen to go elsewhere, while many here would have been disappointed, the responses would not have been venomous or personally critical (based on what I have seen over the years of our supporters) and then we would have moved on. In fact, we would have been honored that our university and our basketball staff has cultivated the type of environment at the U of A that high character student-athletes such as Zeke would consider.It is a shame that the only way to rationalize something like this ( a high school student's decision to attend another university) is to engage in personal attack, question the "heart" of a player and their desire to achieve and become irrationally hypercritical of the student-athlete, their family and the institution they have decided to attend.Some people need to get some perspective in their lives. Clearly some of those people do not. That is sad.We are fortunate that your son is well-grounded (except on the court when swatting lane driver's shots away!!) and made a thoughtful decision. I am sure that it was not an easy one considering all of the schools that were "knocking" on your door.Go Zeke!! Go Zips!!

[zippyrifle32]

Good Morning Zip Family:As I'm getting ready for church I wanted you all to check out the link below. This is to a "pitt" blog and I want Zeke's new fam to read the nasty comments being left about Zeke's decision. As his mom...this stuff really hurts, but as an adult I do understand that everyone is entitled to their "own opinion" no matter how dumb it is or how "idiotic" and "immature" they sound. Just an FYI...have a great day everyone. http://www.pittblather.com/

if you are 100% without a doubt sure that zeke will be signing with akron in the fall and that absolutely nothing can change his mind, my best advice would be to just ignore the press. you already have made your decision and now all that's really left is all of the jealous people to vent their anger. it hurts, yes, and really can only bring you down. they're idiots that won't be reasoned with, so why bother arguing? you guys are sitting in a great position and zeke only has to worry now about having a great senior year. why let others try to tear that down by reading their negativity?

[ziplock]

I also guess that the old adage "Consider the source" is apropos in contemplating vicious comments by morons, malcontents and the uneducable.Go Zeke!!Go Zips!!

[MDZip]

A suggestion - don't read it, don't post it - who cares. Zeke made a decision that he thinks is right for him and good for him. Even had he chosen to go elsewhere, I would wish him the best. He seems like a fine young man, bright, level-headed, and the definition of a student athlete. He picked a school for academic reasons without getting stars in his eyes. What more could you want from a 17 year old? As a basketball recruit, terrific - picking Akron for the right academic reasons - priceless. You don't get a lot better publicity for a school than that (see the article on the artifical pancreas again). Not once have I seen anything about picking Akron as a nice steppingstone to the NBA, think Micheal Beasley or OJ Mayo picked their schools that way? That's what's really great about this verbal. Congratulations Zeke, I hope your college experience turns out to be just what you evidently are envisioning.

[scottditzen]

Most of those Pitt fans sound idiotic. I would like to think that even though our fan base is much smaller, we are more like a family, classier and more level headed about college sports.

[Quickzips]

I wouldn't worry too much about the Pitt crowd. They're probably more threatened by Zeke's decision than anything. They assumed they could have him any time they wanted because he was the highly rated recruit from the area and they are the biggest program in the area. That they didn't land him kind of shakes their world up a bit.

[zippy5]

I think all the comments about the campuses are pretty funny.I chose Akron over Pitt for the same reasons as Zeke. (minus the basketball full-ride )Pitt doesn't really have a campus, it's just kind of a smaller city of Pittsburgh.I was a huge Pitt fan growing up, and that is really the only reason I considered them.I saw the campus, and it just turned me off. It's a good school and all, and I root for them when they don't play us, but it isn't the safest campus, and I think I counted 4 blades of grass on that campus.Whatever, welcome aboard Zeke! Hope you'll enjoy the place as much as I did so far!

[FromdaBurgh]

Here is a really nice article about the Big Guy:Men’s basketballRivals.com released a list of its top 150 players. Zeke Marshall comes in at No. 37. The Akron recruit also is the eighth-best center. Only 13 teams have received commitments from players ranked higher than Marshall.Hopefully Zips fans are beginning to recognize the magnitude of this. On defense, Marshall will immediately be a backstop for all slashing guards. He will be a pogo stick for offensive rebounds, put-backs and dunks.He is the MAC’s most touted recruit in the modern, Internet-crazed recruiting era. The reason he’s coming to Akron: the coaches. Marshall loves the coaches, and he developed a strong trust in them. The staff should get all kinds of credit for this monumental coup.http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/zips/2008/05/1...ncing-with-the-stars/

[Blue & Gold]

Thanks Gamechanger! That is a link to Mike Rasor's UA Zips blog. You'd probably enjoy reading his blog - I check it daily. Mike does a really good job of keeping us up to date w/ basketball and football recruiting. It's located on Ohio.com which is the Akron Beacon Journal's website. And what's it feel like to be the mother of a kid who's rated the 37th best b-ball player in the country? Is it surreal? Exciting? Scary? Keep Zeke humble! That's what I like most about him - he seems like an honest-to-God good person. He'll fit in so nicely w/ the group of players KD has assembled! He's gonna have A LOT of fun @ Akron and make some really good friends.

[FromdaBurgh]

And what's it feel like to be the mother of a kid who's rated the 37th best b-ball player in the country? Is it surreal? Exciting? Scary? Keep Zeke humble! That's what I like most about him - he seems like an honest-to-God good person. He'll fit in so nicely w/ the group of players KD has assembled! He's gonna have A LOT of fun @ Akron and make some really good friends.

Blue & Gold...it is surreal, unbelievable and absolutely AWESOME...but more importantly me and my entire family give ALL THE GLORY TO GOD!!! I sometimes pinch myself to see if this is actually happening or if I'm really in some kind of dream. We all know, those of us who are parents, that we want our children to experience success, be successful and happy...but to be walking this thing out is amazing. Is it scary...ABSOLUTELY..especially when you also know there are those "other people" out there who are nothing more than "HATERS" it can be scary. Keeping Zeke humble is the easy part (if you can believe that one)...Ezekiel is such a "low key", down to earth, easy going, I'm in my own world kind of a person. He is SOOOOOO NOT THE NORM...I think many people are afraid of that. Listen to this...Zeke HATES and I mean HATES rap music, doesn't listen to R&B or the kind of music that is sooo popular now...BUT will listen to some "old school" rap--the Run DMC and stuff like that...AND he LOVES JAZZ so to say Zeke is "special" is putting it mildly..NOT THAT MOMMA DON'T MIND...not at all. I know for a fact that Zeke is going to have A BLAST at Akron because of the kind of people you all are. ZipWatcher has definitely tapped into Zeke's humorous side...and many of you know when to pour it on and when to back off and allow him a "moment"!!! I'm so excited and happy for him and know that he has nothing but some really good times to look forward to in the next several years. Thanks Blue & Gold for asking..........