Zeke Marshall!!!

[Zip Watcher]

RISE UP Zips Fans!The week has arrived where we'll all learn how much the Rowdies and fans really want the Zips to take the next step. We talk about it .. some act on it .. and here's your chance to support a {potential} Zips player on his {potential} future campus. Chances to show support like this don't come along all the time. It's up to us to take this one.Thanks to King James and his tournament, the best HS ballplayers in the country will descend on NE OH this weekend for the King James Shooting Stars Classic. Games begin Friday and continue through the championships on Saturday.Among the top players coming to Akron is Zeke Marshall, #61 on this list of 2009 seniors. Zeke is seriously considering joining the Zips program, and has multiple BCS level offers (Pitt, UVa, Va Tech). He was recently elevated to a 4 star prospect by Scout, and held his own against other similarly rated players last weekend at the Pitt Jam Fest.This weekend is your 2nd chance locally to support Zeke and the Pittsburgh Storm. Go catch some fine AAU hoops and cheer on the block party that is Zeke Marshall.

• The website of the Tournament is located HERE.
• The Storm are team #2 in the M Pool, competing in the OPEN division of 17U.
• Based on currently posted schedules, the Storm plays Friday at 8:40PM at UA Rec Court #1.
• They are then scheduled to play Saturday @ Noon at UA Rec Court #3.
• The full 17U pool play schedule and brackets are found HERE.
• After the first 2 games listed above, bracket play then begins, and is laid out on the schedule page. The Storm is in Pool M, and the 1st and 2nd place teams go to the Diamond Bracket #2 (page 10), the 3rd place goes to the Ruby Bracket (page 11). Please check the tournament pages for final schedules, as everything is subject to change. I'm not certain how current the homepage will be kept.

Some other thoughts:

1. The men's basketball banquet is Friday night. It's listed as from 6-8 or so. Go to both .. get your $15 and go to Quaker Square and celebrate the 2007-08 Zips. Then head over to the Rec to see the center of the defense in 2009-10. Let's make them wish the Storm's game was at the JAR or Memorial.
2. We need to remember that KD & co. (Boals) are recruiting this player. Not us. We're simply going to support an AAU team in their biggest tournament to date.
3. No initiating direct contact with the player or his family is permissible. Pleasantries only if you find yourself face to face with them.
4. As always, if we conduct ourselves appropriately, it will reflect well on UA and the Program. Let's remind them all what Zips fans are all about.
5. Here's your chance Rowdies .. it's on YOUR campus. Roll to the Rec early before heading over to give plasma and buy that new bong at the Odd Corner.
6. If the coaches can land this player .. it's a program elevating event. Be there to see this talent for yourself, in case you really need convincing as to how far this Program has come under KD's watch. While the rest of the conference is still working to fill their scholarships for 08-09, the Zips staff is working to close the deal on a top 11 center for 09-10.
7. Every college coach in the country ought to be in town this weekend. Funny they'll come for this, but they don't dare bring their own teams to play. Whatever.

I encourage you to make it out if you're in the area. AAU hoops are HIGH quality at this level .. you won't be disappointed.Please continue to be mindful of contact guidelines regarding any potential player / family. Let's represent the Rowdies and UA well .. and support the Storm.Go Storm .. Go Zips .. Go Zeke .. GO SEE THEM PLAY B)

[FromdaBurgh]

WELL SAID...Zip Watcher...WELL SAID!!!!!!!!Zeke is soooo looking forward to playing on the UA campus. We are all excited about coming to Akron. Come on ZIP NATION...show ya love! Wave, smile and let the Big Guy know that you want him in the Zip family.See ya Friday nite.Zeke's Mom!!!

[FromdaBurgh]

OK Zip Nation and AK-Rowdies...here is the lowdown on this weekend's playing schedule for Zeke and the Pgh Storm.As you all know we play tonight at 8:40 at the Rec Center and tomorrow at 12 noon also at the Rec Center.Here is the rest of the breakdown...1) IF they come in 1st place (win both games) then they will play again at 2:40 at the Rec Center (court 2);2) IF they come in 2nd place (1-1 win) then they will play at 2:40 at Green H.S. (court 3);3) IF they come in 3rd place (0-2) then they will play at 4pm at the Rec Center (court 1);AFTER these games are played then all remaining games including the Championship will be played at U.A. either at the JAR, Rec Center or Memorial (wherever that is???)How awesome...Zeke will actually get to play on his FUTURE home court... OOOOpppss...DID I SAY THAT!!! LOL!See you all tonight. HOLLA LOUD and HOLLA PROUD..."Welcome home Zeke"!!!!

[ZachTheZip]

Memorial is just west of the JAR. It is the building connected to the JAR via an enclosed walkway between the upper floors of the 2 buildings. The walkway used to go over a street, but looks a little "funny" now that the street is closed and the walkway just goes over a "grassy" area.

Yep. Memorial Hall was the basketball arena before the JAR was built. It's primarily used as the physical education building now, and it is scheduled to be demolished some time within the next year and a half. It is almost completely surrounded by construction at the moment, and I can't see them hosting the championship game there. The seats are uncomfortable, there is no climate control, the scoreboard is on par with a high school one, and the capacity is about half of the JAR.

[ziplock]

Memorial is just west of the JAR. It is the building connected to the JAR via an enclosed walkway between the upper floors of the 2 buildings. The walkway used to go over a street, but looks a little "funny" now that the street is closed and the walkway just goes over a "grassy" area.

Yep. Memorial Hall was the basketball arena before the JAR was built. It's primarily used as the physical education building now, and it is scheduled to be demolished some time within the next year and a half. It is almost completely surrounded by construction at the moment, and I can't see them hosting the championship game there. The seats are uncomfortable, there is no climate control, the scoreboard is on par with a high school one, and the capacity is about half of the JAR.

You are right about the climate control issue...it is like a steambath in that place. But oh, what memories of the old days, Don Williams jamming, Sumthin' Smith burying jumpers, Bill Turner with baseline turnarounds and Frank Thompson swatting opponent's lay up attempts. Going in that place, and seeing how small it is after all of the passing years is like going back to your BIG junior high (whoops, middle school) and seeing how small it REALLY was.Go Zips!!

[zip37]

And our w/l record in that building was outstanding, if it goes, it will be sad (to say the least).With ball ammunition, lock and load, and of course

[FromdaBurgh]

GOOD EVENING AK-ROWDIES AND ZIP NATION FANS....Well, we just finished our first game and unfortunately we lost to the Florida Rams. It wasn't a pretty game at all. As a matter of fact, the Pgh Storm played its worse game EVER....but the BIG GUY..did very well inspite of it all. He had 14 pts...6 rebounds and about 6 blocks. It was unfortunate because we have the talent to beat that team...however we just couldn't pull it out. Zeke was happy to be on campus and it felt SOOOOOOO right being here. For those of you who came out to check him out...THANK YOU SOOO MUCH. Hey.... too the 2 guys who walked out of the Rec Center with us...thanks for introducing yourselves and for coming over from the basketball banquet (which by the way..I heard was very, very nice) it was a pleasure meeting you both. Zeke is laying in the bed, waiting for his pizza from Domino's (at 11:25pm)--but we did say we wanted to put weight on him. He was a little disappointed over the loss but he was more offended because he said that the players from the Florida Rams...did nothing but talk **** the entire game..and Zeke H-A-T-E-S that. Well, ladies and gentlemen...the pizza guy is here so (sing with me....) Now its time to say goodbye to all my family....Z-I-P-P-Y...AK-ROWDIES...We love u...Zip Nation, we love Zip Nation!!!! OK...so I won't quit my day job (oh my bad...I don't have a day job--LOL See you all tomorrow at 12NOON.Peace Out...Zeke's Mom

[Zip Watcher]

After the banquet (more on that later), I was able to convince the wife to stop over and see Zeke play. I saw all but the last 4 minutes ... and when I had to go, the game was still in doubt. I understand from posts above that they ultimately fell to the FLA team they were playing.Seemed like about a dozen UA folks scattered around, which was good. I'll admit that the Rec courts don't lend themselves too well to the casual fans .. there's just not much room around them.Compared to the 2 games I saw in the Solon Cage Classic, the Storm struggled a bit. The FLA team was bigger & quicker than either opponent at Solon. The game was tight early .. then got a little bit out of control, but in the second half, the Storm pulled back into it. I believe that had it down to 5 with the ball at one point, but it may have been 7 with the ball.Zeke changed a bunch of shots early .. and then had some foul trouble I think, because he sat for a bit in the first half. The second half, he stepped it up offensively. I think on 3 possessions out of 5 down the court in the second half, he actually got the ball on the block on offense. This was NOT a common occurrence last night .. I'm not really sure why. Regardless, on all 3 he demonstrated a nice back to the basket post move and dropped 7' shots into the hoop. This was part of the big run the Storm put on midway through the 2nd.I think he changed a bunch of shots .. lots more than went as official blocks. Probably not his best game .. but still very much a factor in things. The FLA team had a guy who just verballed to Louisville, as well as some weakside size, so the competition was pretty good.One comment about the Storm's game planning: they generally run the offense like a HS team unaware of a size advantage of the post. They don't generally use Zeke on screens to get him into open space, and they don't have a lot of success getting the ball to him when he's on the block one-on-one. I'm not sure if they're not looking for him or what ... in fact it seemed like they had him on the weak side a lot on offense .. so it's hard to tell what was going on there. The word of the day remains upside: He's BIG .. athletic, and long. These things can't be taught. Seems to me his timing on shot blocking is pretty good, and he's shown some good touch inside. The rest are things that will continue to improve. He just turned 17 recently, and has a year of HS ball left to play. The great thing here if the Zips can land him is that he's got lots of time to develop. They're not scrambling to fill open spots for the 08-09 roster here. This is planning for the FUTURE .. 09-10. This is a good thing.I'm heading down w/ the boy for the noon game today. Hope to see some of you there again.Go Zips .. Go Zeke .. Go Storm .. Go see them PLAY!!

[gozips19]

great post ZW! here's a little piece from a rivals article.Marshall isn't one to look past either. He was beaten by Buckles several times with the dribble drive but he also showed some fla.sh on the offensive end. He scored on three straight possessions by playing up to his size and length. Marshall scored with some one-handers in the paint and was good on the pick and pop on the baseline. He blocked two shots in that span and ran the floor for the reward.Marshall's game is a fla.sh here and a fla.sh there. The finish product is not in the near future and that is part of the intrigue with the big man. He lacks great strength but there is something about his game that will have the high-majors following him around this weekend.fyi. buckles is going to Louisville

[Zip Watcher]

Ok .. just got back from the noon game .. and what a difference a night's rest makes.The Storm won game 2 by 8 or so after a tightly contested game the whole way. Coach Dixon from Pitt among several coaches in the room to watch the game.Zeke had a nice game: 16 points, 8 rebounds, 10 blocks .. despite sitting a bit in the second half due to foul trouble. I don't think he missed more than 3 shots, so I'd put him at 8-11 from the field. 1 or 2 of the misses needed to be just dunked home, but he touched them up and got bad bounces. He showed the little post move from last night a few times. Cleaned up the glass a little better today, and even showed a 17 foot jumper in the first half. Did not go to the line this afternoon.Good effort by the Storm .. the game could have gone either way. They played together, the threes were falling, and the big guy was affecting lots of shots in the lane. Good game.I'm not able to make games tonight and tomorrow .. so I'm hoping other folks will update us as to what happens at 2:40 today in order that we can give correct schedule information for the rest of the tournament.Go Zips .. Go Zeke .. Go Storm .. Go see them play!!

[Blue & Gold]

I was able to make the first half of the noon game today ($10 for 1/2 of basketball! - Go Zeke! You can tell we want you, bro!) and I was pretty darned impressed! First of all, I come up his rib cage. Secondly, he really is a game-changer (just like his mother's screen name, whom, by the way, I had the pleasure of meeting - very sweet, caring, vocal, funny lady) as the opposing team really seemed to play with much more confidence when Zeke was not on the floor. Without Zeke on the P-Storm team, I'd guess the other team would have won easily. They just seemed much more athletic than the P-Storm. But with Zeke out there it really distrupted what the other team wanted to do; frustrated their big men quite a bit, and seemed to give the P-Storm players more confidence on both O and D. I did not get to meet Zeke, but I like his demeanor. You can just tell that he's a really nice "kid." And he plays with confidence. He's an awfully tough player now; in another year or two, he's going to be a monster. His mother is terrific! I can tell right now that she would become best friends with the McKnights. She's funny, vocal, encouraging and patient - just like the McKnight's parents (especially their father) if you've ever watched him cheer for his boys. It's really something special. Some parents get on their kids; some encourage their kids - Zeke's mom is an encourager.As an aside, AAU basketball is DARN good! There were a TON of excellent players there today. Good grief, I've never seen so much height walking around the Rec Center - there were 6'-7"ers all over the place! This brand of basketball (while I suppose the teams don't practice together as much as the teams do in high school) seems to be athletically FAR superior to high school ball. The Rec Center was chock-full of serious ballers today! Thanks LeBron!And to the Marshall's, I hope you guys really enjoy your weekend in Akron! Do we live in a great country, or what?! Basketball during the day; Dominoe's pizza at night; life is good!

[FromdaBurgh]

Well Zip Nation...WE LOST the 2:40 game to New York Gauchos by...are u ready...21!!! OUCH!!! We just lost it..Zeke did what he could do but unfortunately it wasn't enough.Once again...our outside shooters were runnin and gunnin and the Gauchos was HITTIN E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G. It was a pleasure meeting Blue & Gold and always good seeing ZipWatcher again. Zeke is talkin with Coach Boals on the phone right now. I think, I think, I think...we are having an "unofficial" visit with the coaches at 11:00 AM (for those of you who pray...pray, pray, pray)--never know what might be said during this visit. It was an awesome run. I love Akron and we love you all too. Stay tuned ladies and gentlemen I'll let you know what happens. Talk with ya later...PEACEZeke's Mom

[Captain Kangaroo]

Thanks to all who've posted on the tourney! I couldn't make it last night, and 14 yards of mulch later...well...today wasn't happenin' either. If there is a Zeke/Storm game tomorrow, it would be appreciated if someone could post the time and place.

[FromdaBurgh]

No more games Zip Nation. The Storm was eliminated yesterday with that loss at the 2:40 game. HOWEVER...Zeke will be on campus this morning for an "UNOFFICIAL VISIT".

[FromdaBurgh]

THE BIG GUY HAS A PIC ON RIVALS...AND AN INTERESTING SNIPPET ON SCOUT...Here are the links:http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=801904**make sure you scroll down to about mid way on this page to see the pic and then scroll down until you see the title: HI..MY NAME ISSince I don't have a subscription to Scout...I couldn't get to the write up on Zeke on that site...but my son sent it to me via email here it is:Mac Irvin’s team didn’t need Crandall Head as much in its upset over the Atlanta Celtics because guards Tony Nixon and Terry Johnson were dialed in from downtown. … We weren’t there but apparently Zeke Marshall held a block party and scored a ton of points. Could this be the breakout? … Brandon Paul is a serious athlete. …

[FromdaBurgh]

It was a pleasure meeting ALL OF U GUYS this weekend. There is none like the ZIP NATION...you showed the Big Guy much love and for that I am greatful, as is he!!! I'll HOLLA back real soon.PeaceZeke's Mom